Lourd's comments came ahead of Fisher's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on Thursday.
Carrie Fisher's half-sisters, Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher, are speaking out following Billie Lourd's comments ahead of her mother's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on Thursday.
Lourd confirmed that she had intentionally not invited Carrie's brother, Todd, or Joely and Tricia, in a statement made to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday after she claimed the trio tried to profit off Carrie's death.
Carrie died on Dec. 26, 2016 at 60 years old. The next day, the actress' mother -- and Lourd's grandmother -- the iconic performer Debbie Reynolds, died at 84.
"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," Lourd claimed in her statement to THR. "I found out they had done this through the press. They never consulted me or considered how this would affect our relationship."
"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's statement continued.
ET spoke with Joely -- who was on the WGA picket line -- and Tricia Leigh ahead of the ceremony on Thursday, where Tricia said the ordeal was both "hurtful" and "confusing."
"My sister, Joely, and I were not invited, and, you know, it was really hurtful and confusing," Tricia said. "We didn't know why, and our message was not an attack on Billie. It was coming from us, feeling hurt in her. I just felt like I had to respond to what she put out there. I feel like my character has been slandered, and normally I wouldn't get involved in this. I wouldn't drag it out, but I think it's really important for me to set the record straight about myself. So, I never wrote a book. I never profited from interviews. I never profited in any way, and to say that I took advantage of probably the single, most traumatic experience that I've had, and I've had a few, is is unconscionable, and I just couldn't let that go by."
She continued, "I had to say something, because that's not who I am. I'm a person of integrity. I adored my sister. I did one news interview that I was asked to do, to speak about my sister, and about the loss, and about who she is as an amazing person, and honestly, we actually did reach out to Billie and say, 'Is this OK with you? Should we do this? Can we do this?' and had her blessing."
Joely echoed a similar sentiment, adding, "Billie's statement was confusing. It was calling us out for something that was sort of true, we were there in her hour of need, she said we weren't, and then she said she wanted to make this day about her mom, but then made it about us, and made it about us not being there, and I'm sad. You know, but I'm still gonna be elegant and mature, and I don't want to get into-- we don't have a feud, as she said. We don't."
She continued, "I want to say that my niece is standing in her truth, which I applaud her for, but she didn't quite get my side of it right. So, I wanted to say that I never profited from her mother's death. I lost my sister and felt that very deeply and went to Billie, and I went through all of our texts and all of my texts with her father, and looked back to see if I had done something that felt wrong. I basically went to them and asked their blessing, which I didn't need to do, and I went and I looked at what I had written, and it was my truth."
Tricia claims she's reached out to Lourd over the last seven years to no avail, adding that she and her siblings wanted to have her in their lives. As for why Lourd made the decision to call them out, Tricia said she's unsure.
"I don't know. I have nothing to do with inheritances, and I have nothing to do with any of that," Tricia said. "I had a relationship with Carrie long before Billie was born. I don't know why she's processing her pain this way, and maybe needs to. I can't even guess. think maybe she wants to erase the past, the fissures. I don't know. It doesn't make sense, and it's unnecessary, because I am a really supportive and loving human being."
Tricia said Joely reached out to Lourd ahead of the ceremony but said the Scream Queens alum did not respond.
"My sister, Joely, did, but she doesn't respond. She doesn't respond to any outreach text messages, phone calls. None of it," Tricia claimed. "So, it really was kind of pointless, and she never explained it. This is the first time in this statement that I've seen, which was saying things that were untrue, is the first time I've heard her even mention anything. I haven't spoken to her since the funeral, and I was right there. I was ready to stand by her, and as I stood by her in the hospital. I was there to be a support for her."
Carrie -- who famously played the iconic Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise -- was posthumously honored with a star on the Walk of Fame on May 4, colloquially known as Star Wars Day. And while it was meant to be a day of celebration, Tricia said the public family drama took away from that a bit.
"I do feel like that, and I don't want to take away from Carrie. I mean, that's the last thing I want to do," Tricia said. "The only reason why I am saying this right now to you and speaking to you, is because what has been said, and what Billie sort of unleashed with all these people who love Carrie fervently, is them believing that she's got like this evil stepsister, who came in and tried to finagle the limelight and the money, and it's like, it couldn't be further from the truth. I mean, I'm a humble human being, but it's ridiculous frankly."
Joely said she'll be celebrating her sister's big accomplishment in her own way, noting, "I'm going to go over there when no one's there and shine up the star and take my photo and you know, May the 4th be with you."
ET also spoke with their brother, Todd, who said being left out of the Walk of Fame ceremony is something he feels Carrie "wouldn't have wanted."
"Well, given the fact that Carrie went out of her way to invite me to every single premiere she ever had, as I was always the plus one, including the final Star Wars premieres....it's very hurtful and disconcerting," Todd said. "Because there is absolutely no way that Carrie wouldn't want me there."
According to Todd, he and Carrie were raised and taught by their famous mom to stand by one another and look after each other.
"That was the way we were brought up. We're very family-oriented, even though we didn't necessarily always agree with every one of our family members," Todd said. "We had regular get-togethers, and we exchanged those moments."
"I was brought into this earth to be Carrie's companion and I've been connected to her that way and I have been responsible for her legacy," he said. "I have done my best to hold up the light that my mother put forward, and trained us on how to behave certain ways and I believe that I have done that."
Todd said that he isn't angry with Lourd, but simply disappointed at the turn of events and doesn't share her perspective.
For more on the family drama, check out the links below.
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