Billie Lourd Explains Why Carrie Fisher’s Brother and Sisters Were Snubbed at Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony

Billie Lourd released a rare statement on her family Wednesday afternoon, confirming that her uncle and aunts were not invited to Carrie Fisher’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. After Fisher’s brother Todd Fisher and sister Joely Fisher publicly wrote about not being invited to the Thursday event, Lourd explained that “they know why” they will not be there. The American Horror Story star, 30, said she has “no relationship” with her late mother’s siblings.

“I have seen the postings and press release issued by my mother’s brother and sister,” Lourd wrote in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”

Todd and Joely “chose to process their grief publicly and capitalize on my mother’s death,” Lourd wrote, through interviews and books about Fisher and her grandmother, Debbie Reynolds. They never spoke to Lourd before publishing the books, she said, adding that she found out about them through the media.

“They never consulted me or considered how this would affect our relationship,” Lourd continued. “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. “

Lourd then directly referenced Todd’s press release to TMZ and Joely’s Instagram post about not being invited to the ceremony. These statements confirmed her “instincts were right,” Lourd wrote. “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.”

The Ticket to Paradise star ended her statement by thanking Disney, Lucasfilm, and the “people who knew and loved my mom” who made the Hollywood Walk of Fame star 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,” Lourd wrote.

Fisher’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony is timed with Star Wars Day and comes nearly seven years after her death in December 2016. Her mother, Reynolds, died the next day at 84. It was not known that Fisher’s siblings Todd, Joely, and Tricia Leigh Fisher would not be attending until Todd gave a statement to TMZ. Joely also posted a statement from herself and Tricia confirming they were not invited either.

While Lourd chose to keep her private life with her husband Austen Rydell and their two children out of the spotlight, her uncle and aunt talked to the press often about their sister. Todd published the memoir My Girls: A Lifetime with Carrie and Debbie, while Joely wrote Growing Up Fisher: Musings, Memories, and Misadventures. Reynolds has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to acknowledge her contributions to film and the stage.