After the 'American Horror Story' star calls out her late mother's siblings over their 'hurtful' actions, Todd Fisher denies he ever capitalized on the deaths of his sister Carrie or his mother Debbie Reynolds.
- May 4, 2023
AceShowbiz - The Fisher family feud is getting nastier. Carrie Fisher's brother Todd Fisher has clapped back after his niece Billie Lourd admitted to snubbing him from her mother's upcoming Walk of Fame ceremony, citing his and his siblings' "hurtful" actions as the reason why she didn't invite them.
"I have seen the postings and press release issued by my mother's brother and sister," Billie spoke up after Todd made his complaint public. "I apologize to anyone reading this for feeling the need to defend myself publicly from these family members. But unfortunately, because they publicly attacked me, I have to publicly respond. The truth is I did not invite them to this ceremony. They know why."
The 30-year-old actress continued in the statement issued on Wednesday, May 3, "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."
"I found out they had done this through the press," she continued. "They never consulted me or considered how this would affect our relationship. The truth of my mom's very complicated relationship with her family is only known by me and those who were actually close to her. Though I recognize they have every right to do whatever they choose, their actions were very hurtful to me at the most difficult time in my life. I chose to and still choose to deal with her loss in a much different way."
"The press release Todd Fisher gave to TMZ and the posting Joely Fisher placed on Instagram, once again confirms that my instincts were right," the "Scream Queens" alum fired back. "To be clear - there is no feud. We have no relationship. 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."
She concluded, "The people who knew and loved my mom at Disney and Lucasfilm have made this star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to honor her legacy possible. This moment is about Carrie Fisher and all that she accomplished and what she meant to the world. I'm going to focus on that. May the 4th be with you."
Responding to Billie's statement, Todd claimed that he wanted to put family differences aside for the family ceremony and move on from there, but said, "I was told It was a no go and why would I want to heighten level of emotion for his niece, going further to say if I showed up, she would not."
He claimed that he never capitalized on the deaths of Carrie or his mother Debbie Reynolds despite Billie's allegations, and said that Billie's dad knew Todd was writing a book about them. "I was not aware of the permissions needed from Billie, who came along 40 years later," he argued.
The 65-year-old director/producer also disagreed with Billie regarding Carrie and Debbie's complicated relationship. "To say that her mother's very complicated relationship with her family is known only by her and those who are actually close to her, purposely negates my 60 plus years as Carrie's only brother who lived those years by her side," he said.
Todd said that it was hurtful to learn of the snub from a press release and not Billie, especially because he was the one who was campaigning for Carrie to get her star. He previously told TMZ, "It's heartbreaking and shocking to me that I was intentionally omitted from attending this important legacy event for my sister, Carrie."
"As the only brother of the Carrie Fisher, being omitted from this special day is truly hurtful," Todd divulged. He admitted, "Frankly, it's a distressing situation and I don't deserve to be put in this position." Though he's not getting his wish, Todd assured that he won't crash the Walk of Fame ceremony and opted to keep things "classy."
Later, his sisters Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher posted a joint statement on Instagram in which they wrote, "For some bizarre, misguided reason our niece has chosen not to include us in this epic moment in our sister's career. 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. We have been nothing but loving and open, consistently," they claimed. "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. We thank the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for honoring our sister in this way."
Carrie's posthumous Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Thursday, May 4.
