Todd Fisher, the only brother of late “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher, is making new comments about his relationship with Carrie’s daughter, Billie Lourd.
The family drama boiled over into the press this week after Todd and Carrie’s two sisters – Joely Fisher and Tricia Leigh Fisher – took to the media to reveal that their niece had not invited them to Carrie’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on Thursday, May 4, in honor of Star Wars Day.
Carrie Fisher’s Brother Todd Fisher Details Relationship With Carrie’s Daughter Billie Lourd
After speaking to TMZ on two separate occasions this week, Todd Fisher is now speaking to Page Six about his relationship, or lack thereof, with his niece.
Todd admitted that he had not seen or spoken to Billie in several years, admitting, “It’s been a long while.”
“We had no explanation for the blackout, which is kind of not good,” he said. “But we respected the fact that we were being told that she was really struggling with the loss of her mother. That’s what was being told.”
“And so, therefore, I respected that was her feelings. We now know that it really isn’t about it,” he continued. “It might be entangled in this notion that somehow somebody is exploiting the death of her mother in some fashion.”
Carrie Fisher Passed Away In 2016 After Suffering A Medical Emergency On A Flight
Carrie Fisher passed away on December 27, 2016. Only four days before her death, she was on a flight from London to Los Angeles. Fifteen minutes before the flight landed, she suffered a medical emergency. She was rushed to intensive care, but unfortunately, couldn’t be revived. Her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, passed away from a stroke the following day while the family was working through funeral preparations.
Two years after the death of his mother and only sister, Todd published a book titled, “My Girls: A Lifetime With Carrie and Debbie.” In a statement published on Wednesday, Billie claimed that her family never consulted with her before speaking out about Carrie’s life, death, and legacy.
“Days after my mom died, her brother and her sister chose to process their grief publicly and capitalize on my mother’s death, by doing multiple interviews and selling individual books for a lot of money, with my mom and my grandmother’s deaths as the subject,” Billie wrote in a lengthy statement. “I found out they had done this through the press.”
However, Todd insists that he was never trying to profit off of the death of his sister and mother. “We find out the entire reason is that she’s mad that I wrote the book or that somehow I made money out of this, which is, of course, not true,” he told the publication.
Carrie’s Two Sisters Also Spoke Out About The Hollywood Walk Of Fame ‘Snub’
On Wednesday, the two sisters released a joint statement on Instagram, writing, “In response to all of you asking whether or not we will be part of the celebration….”
“Strangely we won’t be in attendance to celebrate our sister, whom we adored. For some bizarre, misguided reason our niece has chosen not to include us in this epic moment in our sister’s career,” they wrote. “This is something Carrie would have definitely wanted her siblings to be present for. The fact that her only brother and two sisters were intentionally and deliberately excluded is deeply shocking.”
“We have all been grieving the loss of our favorite human for some years now…we have given Billie the space to do that in her own way,” they continued. “We have been nothing but loving and open, consistently. This isn’t about a photo op on Hollywood Blvd…this is about celebrating the permanency of Carrie’s legacy in this industry, taking her place with a star on the iconic walk of fame along side our parents.”
Regardless, it seems that the family “feud” is non-existent. In her statement, Billie Lourd wrote, “The press release Todd Fisher gave to TMZ and the posting Joely Fisher placed on Instagram, once again confirms that my instincts were right.”
“To be clear — there is no feud. We have no relationship,” she continued. “This was a conscious decision on my part to break a cycle with a way of life I want no part of for myself or my children.”
