James Blunt says Carrie Fisher's daughter blames him for Star Wars legend's death after he took drugs with her

28 October 2023, 08:19

James Blunt has said that the daughter of Carrie Fisher hold him partly responsible for her death, because the two took drugs together.

Blunt, 49, was close friends with the Star Wars icon, who died aged 60 in 2016, and lived with her in Los Angeles while writing his first album.

The singer was with Fisher the night before she was found passed out during a flight, four days before she died in hospital.

Blunt said that while Fisher's previous best friend confronted her about her drug use, causing a rift between them, "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."

He added that "the lives we tell ourselves are the hardest to forgive".

Read more: Star Wars Actress Carrie Fisher Dies Age 60

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Writing in his memoir Loosely Based On A Made-Up Story, extracted in the Sun, Blunt said that he was closer to Fisher than "almost anyone else in the world" other than his wife.

"She told me which girlfriends weren’t suitable, was the first person I told when I met my wife, and we chose engagement rings for her together.

"She also knew where every unmarked grave of mine lay and where every guilt stemmed from. She was complicit too. When I arrived home one morning with a love bite on my neck, and my girlfriend of the moment about to arrive, Carrie grabbed her 16-year-old daughter and gave her a love bite as well.

“Then Carrie summoned me over, offering her own neck, and told me to give her a love bite. When the girlfriend arrived, we all had love bites.

“There was also an issue with drugs. Carrie had long been open about her addiction, but at some point it was obvious enough to be of concern.

“I stood many times at the foot of her bed at 3am listening to the laboured breathing of someone sounding close to death on heavy medication. Not long before she died, I asked her to be godmother to my son, telling her that I wanted her to take care of herself so that he might know her when he grew up.

“Charlie, her best friend, confronted her more directly and told her she needed to quit drugs, but was ostracised by her as a result. 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.

“The lies we tell ourselves are the ­hardest to forgive. As a result, her ­daughter Billie blames me in part for her death, and no longer speaks to me.“

Fisher was buried in a giant ceramic Prozac pill, according to Blunt.

"You can see a picture of it on the CD disc of my first album," he said. "There are only two of them in the world, and the other one is my most treasured possession."

Fisher died of a cardiac arrest. A post-mortem found that she had cocaine, heroin, MDMA and other opiates in her system.

Loosely Based On A Made-Up Story: A Non-Memoir, by James Blunt, is out now, published by Constable priced £20 in hardback. Also available in ebook and audiobook.