"They had applied a lot of pressure on her to be thin" — James Blunt blames Star Wars creators for late friend Carrie Fisher's relapse

English musician James Blunt addressed the audience at the Hay Literature Festival, on May 27, and opened up about late actress Carrie Fisher's relapse. Blunt claimed that Fisher was "mistreating her body" before her demise in 2016 since she was pressurized by Star Ward creators to become thinner.

While discussing his memoir Loosely Based on a Made-Up Story, the singer remembered his late friend Fisher and the struggles she went through before her sudden death over seven years ago. According to Blunt, the actress has just gotten to play Princess Leia in a new Star Wars film, back then. He added:

"So she was really on a high and a positive, but they had applied a lot of pressure on her to be thin. She spoke about the difficulties that women have in the industry, how men are allowed to grow old, and women are certainly not in film and TV."

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James Blunt opened up about Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher's struggles before she died suddenly

50-year-old singer James Blunt appeared at the Hay Literature Festival on Monday, May 27, where he spoke about his memoir, which was originally published last year in October. While talking about the book, Blunt remembered his late friend Cassie Fisher, who had been well-known for playing the character of Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise.

The Afterlove singer James Blunt claimed that Fisher was struggling with her body a lot before she died. She reportedly wasn't treating her body well, after receiving too much pressure from the Star Wars creators who allegedly wanted her to be thin. The singer stated that she was with him at his residence, a day before her death.

James Blunt additionally said,

"I was with her the day before she died, when she came down to my house. And she’d been really mistreating her body, and she’d just got the job again of being Princess Leia in a new Star Wars movie."

A Wax Figure of Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia at Madame Tussauds in Berlin, (Photo by Clemens Bilan/Getty Images)

According to Blunt, Carrie spoke about the difficulties of being an actress in the film industry as well. Blunt claimed that the late actress has started consuming drugs due to the pressure of being thin. He said,

"She really put a lot of pressure on herself, started using drugs again and by the time she got on the plane, she had effectively killed herself. They say it was heart failure of some kind, but she had taken enough drugs to have a really good party."

After Carrie Fisher's death on December 27, 2016, a toxicology test was done. According to the report, the late actress was found to have drugs like cocaine, heroin, MDMA, and methadone in her body when she died.

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James Blunt and Carrie Fisher had been friends for a long time

While talking about Carrie and his memoir, James Blunt explained in his book how Carrie's daughter Billie Lourd, blamed him for her mum's death. In his memoir, Blunt wrote,

"Charlie, her best friend, confronted her more directly and told her she needed to quit drugs. I took a different approach and did them with her, pretending to myself that I would guide her to redemption one day – just not today. As a result, her daughter Billie blames me in part for her death, and no longer speaks to me."

James Blunt and Carrie Fisher had been good friends, so much so that Fisher let Blunt move into her house when the singer was recording his first studio album. In a previous interview with The Guardian in October 2023, Blunt revealed that he was dating a girl back then, whose parents were family friends to Fisher's parents. According to the 50-year-old singer, this was how they met.

James Blunt shared that his song, Dark Thought, was based on how he felt when he first entered Carrie Fisher's house after her death. He further spoke about this track, in an interview with NME, last November, and said,

"It must be about seven years since she died, I’m not entirely sure, but it’s taken me all of that time to write a song for her."

Fisher has acted in several films over the years. The list would include the Star Wars films from 1977 to 1983, When Harry Net Sally, The Burbs, and Shampoo. Apart from being an actress, Fisher has also been an author of several books including Wishful Drinking, Delusions Of Grandma, The Process Diarist, and Shockaholic, to name a few.

After her tragic death, Star Wars director, George Lucas described her as a talented actress.

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The Hay Festival, where Blunt spoke about his late friend, commenced on May 23, 2024, and is expected to continue till June 2, 2024.