5:35 PM PT -- Carrie Fisher's brother, Todd Fisher, is firing back at his niece ... he says he tried to hash out his differences with Billie before running to the media.
Todd says he wanted to put family differences aside for the family ceremony and move on from there, but says ... "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."
Carrie's brother says he didn't attack Billie, and pushes back on the idea he knew why she didn't want him there. He says it was hurtful to learn of the snub from a press release and not Billie, especially because he was the one who started the process to get Carrie her star.
Todd says he never capitalized on the deaths of Carrie or his mother Debbie Reynolds, as Billie claims, and says Billie's dad knew Todd was writing a book about them, adding ... "I was not aware of the permissions needed from Billie, who came along 40 years later."
Carrie's brother also had this to say about his niece ... "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."
Todd says the family should be able to set aside their differences for an hour to see Carrie get her star.
Billie Lourd is calling out her aunts and uncles -- Carrie Fisher's siblings -- saying "they know why" they didn't get invited to Carrie's Walk of Fame ceremony ... and it's all about money and alleged exploitation.
Billie tells TMZ ... she's seen what her mom's brother and sister -- Todd Fisher and Joely Fisher -- have said recently and feels she has to speak up after being blasted by them for not inviting them to Thursday's ceremony.
She says her mom's death showed her all she needed to know. The way Billie sees it, they "chose to process their grief publicly and capitalize on my mother's death." She recognizes they're entitled to do what they please, but adds it hurt her a lot when they did interviews and wrote books about Carrie soon after her 2016 death, without consulting or considering how it would affect her.
Billie bluntly says there's "no feud" between them because "we have no relationship." She says she made the decision to not include them on the Walk of Fame guest list to "break a cycle" -- and thinks their public complaints about missing the ceremony back her up.
As we reported, Todd told us it was "heartbreaking" he was left off the guest list ... and he joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to tell us more about why he should've been included.
Billie responded just a couple hours after Todd's interview.
Carrie's sisters -- Joely and Tricia Leigh Fisher -- called out Billie, calling their disinvite "deeply shocking."
Billie clearly doesn't care, and is putting it all out on the table now.
Originally Published -- 5:40 PM PT