Wow… what should have been a proud moment on the world’s stage has instead just brought up serious family drama! No, we aren’t talking about the coronation… it’s Carrie Fisher‘s Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony!
The posthumous honor will happen on Thursday on Hollywood Blvd, in front of Disney‘s El Capitan theater — timed to be part of the company’s celebrations for May the Fourth, aka Star Wars Day. Princess Leia aside, the honor is well earned — besides her most iconic role, Carrie was also a hugely influential Hollywood mover and shaker, hopping back and forth seamlessly between hilarious onscreen appearances in films like When Harry Met Sally and The Blues Brothers and shows like Laverne & Shirley and 30 Rock — and becoming one of the most prolific script doctors in Tinseltown! Not to mention her Hollywood memoirs. Heck, her semi-autobiographical novel Postcards from the Edge was so big it became a movie starring Meryl Streep!
Related: The Best Carrie Fisher Story You’ve Never Heard!
That is, of course, beside the fact Carrie was, as the daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, already Hollywood royalty (or sure, a nepo baby, if you prefer). The point is, she would have been famous no matter what she did because of who her family was, she would have been celebrated because of how she looked — but she was important because of how she used her brain. She was just effing fabulous, and this star is so, so deserved.
In a press release last week, Ana Martinez, Producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, gave fans the touching specifics of where the star would be located, too, saying:
“Fans will be over the moon to know that their favorite movie princess, Carrie Fisher will be honored with her star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame! Carrie will join her Star Wars co-stars and fellow Walk of Famers Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford on this historic sidewalk. I am happy to add, that her star is just a few feet away from the star of Mark Hamill and across the street from the star of her legendary mother Debbie Reynolds!”
How lovely! Her onscreen brother and her IRL mother! But what about the rest of her family? Well, there’s where it gets dicey. The press release noted her daughter Billie Lourd “will be accepting the star on behalf of her mother” but other speakers remain TBA.
Well, on Wednesday morning, just a day before the big ceremony, Carrie’s half-sister Joely Fisher — an actress you might remember from Ellen (the sitcom before the talk show) — made it clear she would not be one of those speakers. Nor would her sister Tricia Leigh Fisher, also an actress. In fact, according to Joely’s Instagram post, Carrie’s younger half-siblings weren’t invited at all! She wrote:
“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.”
Yep. She specifically called out Billie as the one responsible the snub! Speaking for her late sister she said:
“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.”
Yes, as she mentioned, Carrie’s brother Todd Fisher isn’t invited either! He, in fact, had already made a stink about it, telling TMZ in a statement:
“It’s heartbreaking and shocking to me that I was intentionally omitted from attending this important legacy event for my sister, Carrie.”
He added how “extremely hurtful and distressing” the news was “as I was always a big part of everything my sister and mother did historically over their lifetimes.”
Joely concluded in her post:
“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. May the Fourth Be with you. Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher. #carriefisher #hollywoodwalkoffame #starwarsday #maythefourthbewithyou #fishersisters #sisters #growingupfisher #threelittlefishiesinanittybittypool #sissyfish #bigauntie #tricialeighfisher #hollywoodroyalty #family #familyvalues #celebration”
That is a LOT of hashtags…
So what does Billie have to say about the accusations? That she’s coldly cut Carrie’s siblings, her aunts and uncle, from the ceremony? Well… YEP.
Related: Billie Heartbroken Carrie Fisher Will Never Meet Her Grandkids
In her official statement, first published by The Hollywood Reporter, she begins:
“I have seen the postings and press release issued by my mother’s brother and sister. 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.”
“They know why.” Damn. What a beginning. She then let the rest of us in on what they know they did, recalling:
“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. 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.”
It sounds like Billie would have preferred if everyone went as private with their grieving as she did. It’s true, Joely and Todd certainly did a lot of interviews. As for whether they were attempting to “capitalize” or profit off the moment, that isn’t for us to say.
But clearly Billie thinks poorly enough of her family to think that’s what they’re all about. She continued:
“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. 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.”
Wow. This is something she has really put some thought in, especially as a mom of two now! She concluded her statement:
“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.”
Surely that’s the end of it, right? Billie gets final say? Well… she may at that, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end. Shortly after the American Horror Story star’s statement went out, her uncle already had one locked and loaded. Todd claimed in a statement provided to The Wrap that he and the other sibs reached out to Billie long before and were rebuffed:
“We made every attempt to speak with Billie’s team regarding the invitation prior to making any public comments. Keeping the focus on Carrie Fisher, let’s put our differences aside for the hour long ceremony and move on from there. 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.”
That’s her play? If the siblings show up, she’s going to leave? Damn! If you were wondering how serious she is, oof… We guess we’ll see if they decided to call her bluff on Thursday…
As for the jabs about profiting off his sister and mother’s passings, Todd said once again he was deeply offended by that reading, maintaining:
“I never capitalized on either Carrie or my mother Debbie’s deaths, and in no way meant to hurt Billie… and that is the truth…”
He also claimed Billie never expressed these feelings to him in private — and it’s all a surprise to him!
“As she has finally communicated these deep seeded feelings publicly and wants no relationship with me, my response is that I’ve finally learned where she stands after 7 years…..BUT could we not stand together for a moment, set aside our differences, and celebrate Carrie Fisher’s legacy in the way she deserves and the way she would have wanted?”
Um… didn’t you notice you’d never met your nephews, Billie’s two babies?? That, we would have thought, might have been a pretty clear indicator “where she stands” with you. Just sayin’.
What do YOU think of this bad blood suddenly boiling over on the eve of Carrie’s star ceremony? Does it ruin the whole thing for you? Will it things get even worse???
[Image via Brian To/FayesVision/DJDM/WENN.]
