Many were surprised that late actress Carrie Fisher had drugs in her body at the time of her death, but her brother, Todd Fisher, was not one of them.
As Parade points out, Todd spoke out about the revelation that the beloved Star Wars actress had cocaine, methadone, ethanol and opiates in her bloodstream when she died last December.
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“We’re not enlightened. There’s nothing about this that is enlightening,” Todd told AP. “I would tell you, from my perspective that there’s certainly no news that Carrie did drugs…I am not shocked that part of her health was affected by drugs.”
While this may sound condemning, Todd was far from that. He noted that much of her drug use was either prescribed or used to treat her mental illnesses.
“They were doing their best to cure a mental disorder. Can you really blame them?” Todd said. “Without her drugs, maybe she would have left long ago.”
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Todd ultimately marks her cause of death, which was ultimately ruled “undetermined,” to miss of smoking, addiction, mental illness and underlying health issues, including heart disease.
“If you want to know what killed her, it’s all of it,” he said.
Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd also spoke out about her mother’s drug use after the coroner’s report came out. She shared similar sentiments and urged those struggling with their mental health and/or addiction to get help.
“My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases,” Lourd said. “She talked about the shame that torments people and their families confronted by these diseases.
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She continued, “I know my Mom, she’d want her death to encourage people to be open about their struggles. Seek help, fight for government funding for mental health programs. Shame and those social stigmas are the enemies of progress to solutions and ultimately a cure.
Fisher died on Dec. 27 due to cardiac arrest at age 60. Her mother Debbie Reynolds died days later on Dec. 28 after suffering from a stroke at age 84.
A public memorial service was held on March 25, with fans from across the globe paying tribute to one of Hollywood’s most beloved families. Fisher’s remains cremated and buried beside her mother.
Fisher will appear in her final film role as General Leia Organa in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is out Dec. 15.
