Priscilla Presley has found herself at the center of an outrageous lawsuit that alleges she pulled the plug on her late daughter Lisa Marie Presley prematurely in a bid to take over control of the Elvis Presley estate.
The court documents were obtained by Entertainment Weekly, and they reveal the lawsuit was filed by business duo Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fiaklo. The trio set up Priscilla Presley Partners, which sought to monetize the image and likeness of Elvis’ former wife. Apparently, the company was behind ensuring the production of Sofia Coppola’s film Priscilla.
Priscilla was allegedly trying to “control the narrative,” and the plaintiffs accuse her of pulling the plug on her daughter just a few hours after she was admitted to the hospital for bowel obstruction complications. The two then allege that Priscilla also accused them of elder abuse and are now asking for $50 million in damages.
In response to the allegations, Priscilla’s counsel Martin D. Singer released a very strong statement saying, “This is nothing more than a sad and vicious attempt to falsely tarnish the reputation of an eighty-year-old woman in blatant retaliation.” Singer went on to describe the lawsuit as “shameful” and “ridiculous.”
Singer seems confident in this case because, even despite Priscilla’s well-documented falling out with her grandchild over control of their family estate, the lawyer assures that this time, Riley Keough is 100% on her grandmother’s corner. Although when the actor was reached for comment, she did not immediately respond.
The Presley family has had a tough couple of years. Priscilla is believed to have been going through financial difficulties when she got into business with Kruse and Fiaklo and believed that this was her way of getting out of debt. And even after the success of the Austin Butler-led biopic Elvis, which went on to help the family’s name get back into the ether — which would give them more opportunities to make money — it wasn’t long before Lisa Marie passed away. And then there was a small tiff about who would end up controlling the family — then soon afterward, her grandson Benjamin Keough also passed away.
But Priscilla assured the public that they have since mended their relationship. Priscilla said that she is now on good terms with Riley and she’s content with her granddaughter being the executor of the family trust. Priscilla added that she’s always been on good terms with Riley and all stories saying otherwise were just publicity.
Priscilla has previously sued Kruse and Fiaklo, alleging that in their partnership she was giving away 80% of earnings to the business duo, which her lawyers saw as indentured servitude and elder abuse. The lawyers made claims that Priscilla’s use of the term “indentured servitude” was offensive to those that fought in the Civil Rights movement. They also dismissed that there was any form of elderly abuse in their business partnership.
The case will seemingly just get more salacious as time goes on, but discovery will ultimately determine who was in the wrong and who was in the right.
