Fact-checking rumours: Michael Jackson told Lisa Marie Presley to go home because Diana Ross was coming to visit him at Beth Israel Medical Center North, New York (December 6-12, 1995)
On December 6, 1995, Michael collapsed on stage during rehearsals for his âOne Night Onlyâ HBO television special at the Beacon Theatre, New York. He was rushed to Beth Israel Medical Center North with dangerous low blood pressure, and dehydration. Janet Jackson was the first family member to arrive.
Lisa Marie flew from Los Angeles to New York, and arrived at the hospital on December 7, to visit Michael. Katherine and Janet Jackson are also there. Lisa Marie visits Michael, again, on December 8, alongside Katherine, Janet and Rebbie Jackson. This was the day, Diana Ross went to visit Michael, alongside her youngest sons Evan and Ross.
Diana Ross arrives at Beth Israel Medical Center North, New York on December 8, 1995
There was no report Lisa was asked to leave the hospital on December 8. In fact, the media was still reporting on Lisaâs constant presence there even after Michael was released on December 12:
âHis mother, Katherine Jackson, wife Lisa Marie Presley and sisters Janet and Rebbie visited him, while dozens of fans kept vigil outside.â
â Jackson's docs: No work until 1996 (December 15, 1995)
The last time Lisa visited Michael (and he asked her to leave), was on December 10, she would later list as their separation date on the divorce papers.
Lisa Marie arrives at Beth Israel Medical Center North, New York on December 7, 1995; Lisa leaves Beth Israel Medical Center North, New York on December 10, 1995
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Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Michael Jackson collapses on stage during rehearsal for his âOne Night Onlyâ HBO television special at the Beacon Theatre, New York, and is rushed to Beth Israel Medical Center North hospital (December 6-12, 1995)
He was about to do a giant HBO thing, and I think he didn't want to do it, so he feigned a fall and went to the hospital
Itâs absolutely false Michael faked a âfallâ to get out of the âOne Night Onlyâ HBO television special. He was rushed to the hospital with dangerous low blood pressure, and dehydration. Marcel Marceau and choreographer LaVelle Smith Jr., witnessed Michael fall face-first onto a hard metal grating without even putting his hands out to break the fall. People on set feared Michael had had an heart attack and died. It was a very serious, real medical emergency.
What Lisa, herself, has she said over the years, and what she describes next in the âmemoirâ, contradicts this claim she believed Michael had staged illness to get out of the HBO show. At the hospital, Lisa came to believe Michaelâs very real collapse might have been caused by his excessive use of painkillers (exactly like her father). And, contrary to what Taraborrelli and the likes have tried to portray, Lisa was extremely worried about Michael, and immediatly flew from Los Angeles to New York, arriving the next day to see him, on December 7:
Karen [Faye], his makeup artist, told me that he'd totally planned it because he didn't want to do the HBO thing.
Karen Faye didnât told Lisa anything at the hospital, at the time, because Lisa didnât even like Karen Faye and thought she was another of the vampires around Michael. Ironically, this was confirmed by Karen herself:
After Michaelâs death, Karen (who was fired in 2005 and returned in 2009) apparently changed her mind about Lisa and claimed they had a friendship, however Lisa, herself, only mentioned her once (when her Twitter account was hacked in 2013), and thereâs one photo of them together at an event, around 2012. Itâs possible Lisa, given her fragile and devastated state, did talk with Karen, or shared some conversations, but thatâs very different from being friends with.
Karen started to share more âintimateâ details about Michael and Lisa after 2016, when Lisa herself was involved in a messy divorce and custody battle with Michael Lockwood, struggling with drug addiction, going in and out of rehab. Meaning; Lisa was completely removed from social media when Karen starts to share several stories and claims to be a close friend of hers, which is sketchy to say the least. Karenâs shady behavior is well-documented by other Moonwalkers so I wonât get into that.
Karen has also been very vocal about memoirs on Michael, speaking against the biopic as well, yet had nothing to say about this one, which has a very damaging claim about her. Itâs also the second story sheâs somewhat involved in that made his way into this âmemoirâ.
However, this claim Michael staged his illness to get out of the HBO special is old news.
The first person to make this claim was La Toya Jackson in 1995, when she gave an interview to âNew York Daily Newsâ, saying her brother was âfaking his illness to get publicityâ and to escape the HBO special.
At the time, La Toya was completely estranged from her family and isolated from everyone, fully under the control of her abusive husband and manager, Jack Gordon, who forced her to speak against Michael and her family during this time, physically abused her, coerced her into marrying him, and pimped her around. After defending Michael against the 1993 allegations in August, she would change her tune completely on December, in a Tel Aviv press conference orchestrated and scripted by Gordon. She would only escape this marriage in 1996, with the help of her brother Randy Jackson.
This claim would return in 2005, by the hand long-time publicist, public relations manager, and vice president of MJJ Productions, Bob Jones, who was fired in 2004, when Michael found out he was writing a book on him. This book has to be âMichael Jackson: The man behind the maskâ, where, alongside Stacy Brown, he makes very serious accusations against Michael, portraying him as a child molester and even calling tabloid reporter Diane Dimond (who has made her career out of the allegations against Michael) an âaward winning journalistâ. Jones took the stand in 2005 where, under oath, he admitted to have lied in this book.
âHe had been contracted to do an HBO special entitled "One Night Only." The network had promised a worldwide audience of 250 million people. But once again the King of Pop was up to his old tricks. Something happened and he decided he didn't want to do the shows despite his agreement with HBO. You had to figure that he was up to something and he didn't disappoint. I had attended the rehearsal for the show at the Beacon Theater earlier that day and all seemed to be going very well. However, later, after I left, I got a call from Jim Morey saying that I better get back there because they were taking Michael Jackson to the hospital in an ambulance. Morey said I needed to rush back in order to be available to the media.â
â Bob Jones; from âMichael Jackson, the Man Behind the Mask: An Insider's Story of the King of Popâ (2005)
Now, to solidify this lie, Lisa Marie Presley autobiography was used, and hijacked. A autobiography tampered by Scientology and, apparently, others, as well. We know, for a fact, this wasnât the autobiography she was working on at the time of her death, alongside Neil Strauss; that manuscript was discarded and replaced by a project Lisa, herself, never consent to, and never wanted.
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough vacations in Hawaii with their children Riley and Ben Keough
We were best friends. We shared every single family vacation together.
âWe made a statement when we divorced that we would remain friends for our children's sake. And that's how it stands. We are friends. That's our relationship.â
â Liz Smith reports Lisa Marie Presley Denies Intention To Remarry Daniel Keough (October 24, 1996) (via mjfa.forum)
As we saw in previous posts, there was some tension between Michael and Danny Keough, which is kind of expected; but the source of tension was, mostly, father vs. stepfather of the children. Michael and Lisaâs interview with Diane Sawyer (June 14, 1995) resulted in a lawsuit by Evan Chandler in 1997, and on Lisa going on vacations with Danny and their children to Hawaii, twice, in 1995; early July and August (a tradition they kept in the following years).
In the post about the Debbie Rowe situation, we discussed how Michael was asked if he would like to adopt Riley and Ben, and Lisa immediatly stepped in to say they have a biological father whoâs a part of their lives because Lisa and Danny had joined custody of their children. In 2015, Lisa revealed to Tony Ortega a Scientology handler was present at her and Michaelâs interview with Diane Sawyer; and this was a common occurrence throughout their relationship (in the âmemoirâ this was given to Keough). The presence of these handlers is easy to understand, since Scientology leaders wanted Lisa away from Michael.
Unfortunately, Lisa didnât elaborate on what this handlerâs role was during their interview, besides watching them (mostly Lisa); maybe the church had some control over the questions asked?
âWe are like best friends; brother and sister. [...] We have like a compound so he has his house and we spend holidays together. It's hard to have that kind of relationship with your ex...but I think it's very important if you have children with somebody to keep your responsibility. You don't need to put what you guys went through or what you had with each other on the children.â
â Lisa Marie Presley Oprah Interview (2005)
âAs the weeks went by, [Lisa] realized she was not spending enough family time with her own kids, even though they spent some weekends at Neverland, which still remained a place where visiting families came together. At times, and no doubt in response, Lisa Marie disappeared for a few days and when she wasn't around, Michael became insecure. A vicious cycle developed: she wondered where he was and he wondered where she was - jealousy and distance never were a good combination in Hollywood. Now, instead of coming together, they were pulling apart.â
â Jermaine Jackson, from "You Are Not Alone - Michael: Through a Brother's Eye" (2011)
âDanny was still very much part of my life. Michael didn't quite know what to do with that sometimes. That made him uncomfortable and I understood that. Michael would wonder, "Why are you in Hawaii with Danny?" I'd take a vacation and Danny would go. Michael would get upset and "Where are you?" and he would disappear for a couple of weeks and I couldn't find him. Things would make him uncomfortable and when I would do things that would make Michael uncomfortable, if he got uncomfortable or felt vulnerable, he would ice you out as a mechanism. He would push you away and ice you. It was like a shark sometimes in that way, he could just like that, if you'd done him wrong or whatever, you were out.â
â Lisa Marie Presley Oprah Interview (2010)
Nevertheless, after Lisaâs first vacations with Danny, Riley and Ben (early July 1997), she and Michael shooted âYou are Not Aloneâ short film (July 12).
Weeks later, they have a huge fight culminating with Michael bringing up Debbie Roweâs offer to have his children. Michael storms off and goes to France with Eddie and Frank Cascio on July 31, while Lisa returns to Hawaii, to be with her children, and Danny. She and Michael had no contact until September, at the VMAs.
Riley and Ben never saw anything bad between us. We made it really great for them.
âThe way my parents parented was very much like, âWe donât fight around the kids. We donât ever say anything around them.â
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presleyâs arguments about having children, and the Debbie Rowe situation
I know that once in a while Michael would say, "If you're not going to have children with me, then I'm going to find somebody who will."
This is a complete fabrication to make Michael look bad. Lisa never said anything of this sort in past interviews (not even at the height of her angry years, when she had every opportunity to). She very specifically named Debbie Rowe, not the existence of a blackmail routine.
Especially since Michaelâs initial arrangement with Debbie dates back to 1991, so he didnât need to âfind someone who willâ.
Interviewer: Having the baby was her idea. It was a subject that was talked about before Jackson's marriage to Lisa Marie Presley.
Debbie: He did love her very, very much, still does. Still cares about her very, very much. But, um, it didn't work out. And, uh, he was devastated. [âŚ] Well, I said, I said, you know, my offer still stands....
Interviewer: So, if you want to be a parent ....
Debbie: So I said, I said...If you want to be a daddy... I want to do it.
The year 1991 is confirmed by Ralph Wolfe Cowan, who did a painting of Michael (âApocalyptic scene with portrait of Michael Jackson in armorâ), dated from that year. The painter made a sort of analysis of the painting in an interview, and revealed:
âThe woman in the white dress: 'He told me he was seeing this nurse about something and that something magic was going to happen. What was happening was she (Debbie Rowe) was carrying the babies or they were making the deal to do it, so I painted a nurse that looks like an angel.â
Michaelâs two wives represented alongside him, on his commissioned art: Ralph Wolfe Cowan; âApocalyptic scene with portrait of Michael Jackson in armorâ (1991); David Nordahl, âCamelot (Michael & Lisa Marie)â, c. 1995)
From the evidence we have, Michael was, most likely, getting frustrated it was taking so long for Lisa to get pregnant. Hence the damned pill myth from âThe National Enquirerâ tabloid from June 12, 2004; neither Lisa nor Michael ever confirmed, and the pill wasnât even the method of birth control Lisa used.
"Debbie Rowe told me she will have my children." To which my mom would respond jealously, "Then go fuck Debbie Rowe."
For a very long time, especially in 1996-forward, the PR narrative was Debbie made this offer after Michael and Lisa got divorced. However, in 2003, Lisa herself revealed this was not true, and Debbie brought up this suggestion while they were still married, and during the period Michael was going to Dr. Klein often, in mid 1995, for medical treatment, and his addiction to Demerol got worse.
PRESLEY: [âŚ] I knew Debbie Rowe was offering to do it for him while we were married, according to him. She was a nurse who had a crush on him and offered to have his babies.â
PLAYBOY: Was he trying to leverage you into agreeing?
PRESLEY: Kind of. "Debbie Rowe says she'll do it." Ok, have Debbie Rowe do it!
â Lisa Marie Presley; Playboy Interview, June 6, 2003 (via elvis.com.au)
LMP: He would come tell me. âIf youâre not gonna do it, Debbie said sheâll do it.â And I was like, âWhat is that? Hi. Uh⌠not gonna entice me.â So we would get into it, you know, arguments because that really wasnât how to handle it. But that was how he knew how to handle it, I donât wanna say â heâd be like, âWell if youâre not going to, this person will. Are you gonna do it or not?â
O: Thatâs what you mean by disposable.
L: Yes! Thatâs exactly what I mean. [âŚ] Hurt. Hurt, I was hurt.â
â Lisa Marie Presley Oprah Interview (2010)
Debbie herself confirmed this in 2023, after Lisaâs death; finally, putting an end to the PR narrative this offer only happened after Michael and Lisaâs divorce:
âI offered to take care of⌠having the baby or babies while they were working, so [Lisa] wouldnât have to worry about putting her career on hold, or having to change anything. And I thought that by doing this she would understand that it was a gift of love. Not trying to ruin a marriage, or anything like that. Because I would never⌠And I think maybe she was upset because I sabotaged something, when I didnât. It was never my intention to.
I think she was hurt because I think she misunderstood my relationship with Michael. I didnât speak with her when I did get pregnant, and Michael and I did get married. I think she was so angry with me because, in a way, I kind of took something from her. I didnât kind of do it, but I did it. I took away something from her that she just wasnât ready to do at that time.â
Debbie might be speaking the truth (and her offer including them both), or maybe sheâs trying, how they say, to safe face. This was the fight that caused Michael to storm off and not talk to Lisa for a whole month (August 1995), and his people only contacted her in September because she needed to be alongside Michael for the 1995 MTV VMAs (September 7, 1995).
If Debbie is speaking the truth, we might have a monumental misunderstanding between Michael and Lisa (since he wasnât very good at communicating, at times). However, this fight happened after the shooting of âYou Are Not Aloneâ short film (July 12, 1995), when Lisa had just returned from her first vacations with Danny Keough and their children in Hawaii (early July).
How about the video when you were blacker than him? ["You Are Not Alone"]
LMP: I know. I'd just come back from Hawaii. Again, last-minute call. And then suddenly, like, âOh by the way, you're going to be naked.â
â Lisa Marie Presley GQ Magazine January 2004 (via mjfa.forum)
These vacations happened after the Diane Sawyer interview (June 14, 1995); where the question of Michael adopting Lisaâs children came up, and Lisa immediatly said Danny Keough was the biological father of her children, and he was present in their lives. In 2003, Lisa would reveal Danny âintervenedâ in her marriage to Michael, but never elaborated nor spoke about it, again. What this means itâs these vacations were, most likely, Keoughâs idea, and Michael (who was spending a lot of time at the studio, away from Lisa) wasnât very happy about it. So, this ultimatum probably did happen as Lisa recounts.
And Lisa was so hurt, she told Michael to go fuck Debbie, then. You know, instead of her⌠and this sounds exactly like it does: girl went on a sex strike (and probably wrote a song about it).
All I knew of Debbie was that she was a kind lady who helped me with my ear infections.
Debbie Rowe was a medical assistant for dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein. Treating ear infections had nothing to do with her line of work. So this canât be true, nor is there any evidence Riley has met Debbie, so Iâm not sure what they are hinting at here?
On âThe Howard Stern Showâ on March 30, 2005, Lisa confirmed she, indeed, met Debbie Rowe. But itâs unclear if she met her before or after her divorce from Michael in 1996, because the two women were at Munich in 1997, at the same time; and Lisa used to pick up Michael from Dr. Klein clinic in 1995.
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Michael Jackson relapsed on his addiction in 1995
When it came time to do the pre-press [of HiStory] it was clear the pressure was on him. I started noticing differences in him. [âŚ] Michael started going to the doctor's office a lot. I'd pick him up and he would be really out of it. I think it was Demerol shots. He said he needed it because of his scalp injury, but I knew there was a longer story to it, that it was big.
The accident that changed Michaelâs life: severe second and third-degree burns to his scalp during the filming of a Pepsi commercial (January 27, 1984)
True but the wording doesnât make sense (âI knew there was a longer story to it, that it was bigâ) because Lisa was in contact with Michael when he went to rehab in 1993 (confirmed by both of them). She was very much aware he struggled with addiction (as she did in her teenage years), and knew it was Demerol. She was also aware of his medical conditions. As such, her suspicion was that he relapsed.
âThere were times when I would pick him up from a certain doctor's office and he would not be coherent. There was some behaviour now looking back at it. I knew that was because of injections, because they were painful and he would need certain things, because he needed to... [...] Injections or whatever, various dermatological... [...] Skin [disease], various things he needed.â
â Lisa Marie Presley Oprah Interview (2010)
It was also during this time Debbie Rowe, who worked for Dr. Arnold Klein, tells Michael her offer to have his children, is still on the table (a topic for another post).
Michael struggling with his addiction during this time is somewhat confirmed by guitarist Nile Rodgers (who worked with Michael in the âMoneyâ track from âHiStoryâ) on his autobiography âLe Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destinyâ (2011), to whom Michael, during one of their recording sessions, confined to be having problems with Lisa.
âEventually, Michael asked me about Silver Hill's day program. I was curious about his interest in rehab. I assumed it was just idle chitchat or a response to my portrait of the place as a chill destination for famous people. I didn't think he was drinking or drugging at all, not with that memory recall. He quickly brought the conversation back to the press's hounding him, which I'd grown tired of rehashing.â
Then, Niles suggests Michael to stay at his place in Connecticut, where the press wonât bother him. He says Madonna stayed there and no one cared she was there. These words, however, had the opposite effect on Michael.
âI didn't literally mean that nobody would care about him. All I meant was that my place was laid-back. But that's not what seemed to register. I quickly realized my misstep. [âŚ] But it was too late. Whatever momentary Xanadu vision he'd had of Silver Hill's day program had evaporated. He'd made up his mind. As a record producer who's used to dealing with mercurial talent, I knew we were done [âŚ] I never saw Michael, again.â
He began to be more secretive around her. She told me that she thought he was protecting his addiction. [âŚ] When she started asking more questions about his addiction, it would cause a lot of friction.
âMichael hated arguments or raised voices and preferred to avoid a problem rather than confront it. But Lisa Marie wasn't putting up with it: she stood up to Michael and challenged him. That was what he needed, even if he didn't appreciate it. Also, he was still contending with the remnants of his Demerol dependency.â
â Jermaine Jackson, from âYou Are Not Alone - Michael: Through a Brother's Eyeâ (2011)
I need your body / A hot kiss, honey / He's just a bitch, baby / You make me sick, baby / So unrelyin' / Iâm such a swine, baby / All down the line, daddy [âŚ] Your every lick, baby / [âŚ] Sheâll never cut from me / Sheâll never fuck, baby / I had to work, baby / You just a rival / Always to please, daddy / Right up and leave, daddy / You're throwin' shame, daddy / [âŚ] He's tryin' hard to convince her / To give more of what he had / Today, he wants it twice as bad / Don't cry, I won't resent you / Yesterday, you had his trust / Today, he's taking twice as much / Demerol, Demerol / Oh, God, he's taking Demerol
â Michael Jackson; âMorphineâ from âBlood on the Dance Floor: HiStory in the Mixâ (1997)
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Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley monumental fights
For about a year they were riding the high of being newly in love, and then things went downhill.
Two years, actually.
LMP: We go shopping, we go out to dinner. We argue⌠sometimesâŚ
MJ: About what, may I say? [laugh]
â Michael Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley PRIMETIME Interview with Diane Sawyer (1995)
âIt wasn't too long after the Diane Sawyer interview that things started going wrong. We were really on shaky ground.â
â Lisa Marie Presley: Rolling Stone Interview - April 20, 2003 (via rollingstone)
They began fighting a lot, and he would ice her for days.
âThe great sex continued, though. It was the thing that made it difficult for [Lisa] to see straight where [Michael] was concerned. Whatever was going on in the privacy of their bedroom was enough to keep her hooked into the relationship. However, things were getting strained. When they weren't in bed making love, they were fighting.â
â J. Randy Taraborrelli, from âMichael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958â2009â (2009)
Even freaking Taraborrelli is right on occasion, because we have a vicious cycle of fighting and reconciliation happening here (up until 1999, actually).
âWe hit rough waters, we would fight, we would argue, three day arguments sometimes, taking a break to eat and sleep.â
â Lisa Marie Presley Oprah Interview (2010)
PLAYBOY: What will you do differently if you get married again?
PRESLEY: I'm going to become a eunuch or a monk -- nonsexual and nonfunctioning.
- Lisa Marie Presley; Playboy Interview, June 6, 2003 (via elvis.com.au)
I lost my trust in you / You were dangerous and scary / And you poisoned me with the fruits everyone was intrigued by / And I finally got buried / You said I won't forget and I don't remember
â Lisa Marie Presley; âS.O.B.â from âTo Whom It May Concernâ (2003)
âWomen have taken the most powerful men down to nothing because of what is between their legs. Samson, nobody could cut his hair, and he had sex with Delilah.â
â Michael Jackson's Conversations With Rabbi Shmuley (August 2000/April 2001)
She got your number, ah / She know your game, ah / She put you under, ah / It's so insane, ah / Since you seduced her, ah / How does it feel? Ah / To know that woman, ah / Is out to kill / [âŚ] Susie got your number and Susie ain't your friend / Look who took you under with seven inches in
â Michael Jackson; âBlood on the Dance Floorâ from âBlood on the Dance Floor: HiStory in the Mixâ (1997)
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Details of Lisa Marie Presley relationship with Michael Jackson are given to Danny Keough (Part 1)
There were multiple attempts to get my father away from my mom in order to gain control of her, and the tennis court was the first such attempt. My mom was all emotionâshe could feel her way through anythingâbut she wasnât cerebral. My father is deeply intelligent, and that threatened people. He was a problem because he made it harder to control her.
The fact Lisa was dating, engaged, marrying and had children with a Scientologist was heavily publicized in the media as a very positive thing; their dates were photographed, their wedding photos were printed in major publications like LIFE Magazine; even Rileyâs birth made it to the cover of People Magazine, the same way their engagement did.
Even the tabloids, portrayed Lisa and Dannyâs marriage in a positive light, while putting the blame on Priscilla, who, indeed, thought Danny was beneath Lisa, and she needed someone more distinguished (that person would be Nicolas Cage, because Priscilla was even more against Lisaâs marriage to Michael).
Now, this is a huge contrast with how Michael and Lisaâs marriage was portrayed in the media: a PR stunt to clean up Michaelâs public image after the 1993 allegations. Many tabloids went as far as saying her true love was Danny, and she only married Michael for a music career.
There were attempts to have me aborted, attempts to have him followed, incriminated, but he always came back swinging (until it nearly killed him to protect her).
Lisa herself has addressed all of these questions in her secret interview with investigative journalist Tony Ortega in 2015, which is why, of course, he would accuse Scientology of tampering with this âmemoirâ. Even worse, when we know, for a fact, this was not even the autobiography Lisa was working on at the time of her death.
In her interview with Ortega, Lisa revealed her personal story with Scientology; starting by how her mother, Priscilla, would âdumpâ her in their quarters, growing up:
âMy mom would dump me off at Scientology. She dumped me at Flag at one point,â she said, referring to Scientologyâs âspiritual mecca,â the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida.â
Lisa also addressed how Scientology leaders saw her:
âShe said her mother was treated with deference as a major celebrity, but Lisa herself was treated shabbily, like an afterthought. [âŚ] Things really began to change for her in Scientology, Lisa said, once she hit 25, the age when she qualified to get her inheritance from her fatherâs estate.
âAt 25, after I got the inheritance, they started grooming me to be this person who would go out and get everyone else in.â Scientology wanted Lisa to be irresistible bait for other celebrities. And they had one particular celebrity in mind.â
Yes, Michael Jackson with whom Lisa had already started a friendship on November 1992, talking to him on the phone, daily.
Lisa married Danny Keough in 1988, when she was 20 years old; their first daughter, Riley, was born on May 29, 1989, and Ben on October 21, 1992. Lisa turned 25 years old on February 1, 1993. According to Lisa herself, Scientology had no interest in what she was doing before she became the head of the Elvis Estate, with her mother Priscilla (who was in charge of the Estate) being their favourite.
These revelations from Lisa contradict this narrative someone tried to ruin her marriage to Keough with private investigators and coerced her to abort Riley; she and Danny have been married with children for 5 whole years before Scientology leaders even cared to look her way. Besides, Keough is Scientology royalty, and his mother, Janet Keough, married Alan Hollander, a Scientologist with whom she co-founded a private Scientology school called Delphian School.
Quite ironically, Scientology did facilitate Michael and Lisaâs relationship; as they were hoping she would bring him into the church. As we already discussed in a previous post; Danny would have no problem with Lisa meeting up with Michael throughout 1993. What no one expected was that Michael and Lisa would engage in a romantic relationship (probably because of the bias against Michael; everyone thought he had no interest in women).
However, everything changed when the 1993 allegations happened and Michaelâs reputation was damaged beyond repair. Scientology no longer saw Michael as an asset: âBut then they realized he was getting too much bad press,â she said.â So, Lisa was to drop Michael and go to the next celebrity. Which she didnât. She went on to marry Michael:
[He] is deeply intelligent, and that threatened people. He was a problem because he made it harder to control her.
[Michael Jackson] must be a pretty charming man.
LMP: He is, and what people always forget is that he didn't get where he is without being shrewd and very, very, very intelligent.
â Lisa Marie Presley GQ Magazine January 2004 (via mjfa.forum)
About private investigators and handlers, Lisa did confirm to Ortega, were a constant during her marriage and relationship with Michael (not Keough), because Scientology leader David Miscavige wanted them separated.
âBut there was always a Scientology presence wherever they went. âThere was always someone here. Even when we did that ABC Primetime interview, there was always a Scientology handler right there.â In particular, two figures were involved in driving them apart, she said.â
As soon as 2003, Lisa was already dropping clues about the whole situation:
âSince Lisa has said that their 1994 MTV Video Music Awards kiss was a stunt dreamed up by Michael's manager, I want to know how Lisa's "people" got along with Michael's "people," and how much these "people" participate in the day-to-day dealings of a relationship.
âIt's a strange thing, but the camps either work or they don't. You have to deal with those peoples agendas, and if you're a threat to them and what they are trying to do, those people will start to get in the other one's ear and you have to be really hyper-perceptive to all of that.â
â Lisa Marie Presley Jane Magazine Interview (September, 2003) (via mjfa.forum)
âI am not here to attack Michael. Until now, I have disclosed very few details of what has really happened in this marriage. I suffered. I was so mad at how they were treating me. When our marriage ended I wanted to call a press conference and tell everyone what had really happened. That my heart got broken. I was deeply disturbed and shattered because I truly was in love with Michael.â
â Lisa Marie Presley Bunte Interview (November, 2003) (via mjfa.forum)
As Lisa told Ortega:
âI was in love with Michael, believe it or not. I didnât want to leave him. He was in trouble and I wanted to help him. And they made sure that I left him.â
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley worlds collading
Paranoia grew in both of them, and they were surrounded by people whispering in their ears. [âŚ] Her distrust of the people around her only grew. At some point Michael disappeared for days and my mom couldn't find him. She was reaching out to his circle, but no one would tell her anything.
âWith [Michael Jackson], unfortunately, too much happened, too much got between us. There was a very deep, strong love there; intense. But people got in the way, on my end and his end. We had so many people telling us what to do and intercepting and speaking on behalf of the other. Had it been just he and I, towards the end, I don't think we would have divorced.â
â What I know about men: Lisa Marie Presley (2014) (via Elvis.com.au)
âI love Lisa Marie. Why won't people believe that? Why won't the public let me be happy?â
â London Mirror: Michael Jackson Interview (September 12, 1994) (via mjfa.forum)
â[âŚ] they were better off without each other. [âŚ] From my perspective, Lisa Marie disappeared as abruptly as she had arrived. [âŚ] I have to admit to feeling a little relieved.â
â Frank Cascio; âMy Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Manâ (2011)
â[Debbie Rowe]âs a really gentle person, very loving,â says Stephen Millard, marketing director at Epic International Artists, Jackson's label in Australia. Adds another associate: âLisa Marie [Presley] had a mind of her own. Debbie is not involved in the limelight. She is very easygoing.â
â âBaby on Board!: The Story Behind Michael Jacksonâs surprise wedding to pregnant pal Debbie Roweâ; People Magazine (December 2, 1996) (via mjfa.forum)
âI knew Debbie Rowe was offering to do it for him while we were married, according to him. She was a nurse who had a crush on him and offered to have his babies.â
â Lisa Marie Presley; Playboy Interview, June 6, 2003 (via elvis.com.au)
âI was appalled by the marriage. I knew in my bones that Michael wasnât marrying Lisa Marie; he was marrying the Presley dynasty. The King of Pop was allying himself with the King of Rock and Roll. I didnât believe he loved her.â
â Priscila Beaulieu Presley; from âSoftly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvisâ (2025)
â[Danny Keough] intervened with Michael. But even then he wasn't vocal. He just let me know he wasn't happy about that one.â
â Lisa Marie Presley; Playboy Interview, June 6, 2003 (via elvis.com.au)
âTo me, however, [Lisa] said that Scientology was intimately involved in the split. âI was in love with Michael. I wanted to help him,â she said. But there was always a Scientology presence wherever they went. âThere was always someone here. Even when we did that ABC Primetime interview, there was always a Scientology handler right there.â In particular, two figures were involved in driving them apart, she said. âDM [David Miscavige] facilitated my divorce with MJ,â she said, claiming that Miscavige and a Scientologist attorney, John P. Coale, pressured her to file for divorce.â
â Tony Ortega: Lisa Marie Presley on Scientology, its leader David Miscavige, and why she left (January 30, 2023)
âYou should have never married Michael. It was never meant to be. Now it's going to end with you losing what you value dearly... your kids.â
â Lisa Marie Presley receives death threats over her marriage to Michael Jackson (FBI files)
âOh God, no! Are you serious?" blurted Terry Marcos, president of Elvis' California Fans (We're Still Shaking). Jackson's "not even a man as far as I'm concernedâ. [âŚ] Members of her fan club are phoning in reactions: âSome people are saying they'll never go back to Graceland if this is true, (others are) saying that it's her life and she can do what she wants. âBut it's not her life. She has two kids to consider. If she were my daughter,â she says with a laugh, âI'd lock her up and throw away the key.â
â Elvis fans reaction to Lisa Marie and Michael Jacksonâs marriage
âA spokeswoman for Michael Jackson's British fan club said: "A lot of the fans didn't really think Lisa-Marie was being supportive enough of Michael. Many didn't really think she was the one for him, she wasn't very demonstrative, so they will probably be quite happy with this news.â
â Michael Jackson fans reaction to Lisa Marie and Michael Jacksonâs divorce: AP News (January 20, 1996) (via mjfa.forum)
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Evan Chandler files a lawsuit against Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley over their 1995 Diane Sawyer Primetime Live Interview, on May 7, 1996
After that interview, I got sued by [Evan] Chandler because Michael had signed a confidentiality agreement with him and had been coached to not approach the subject, but I'd never signed anything. So I would go right in and say that the allegations were not true, and that's how I got the lawsuit.
True but incomplete. Evan Chandler included Lisa on his lawsuit not merely because of breaching of the secrecy terms of the 1994 settlement, but other things, too, including being part of a âcivil conspiracyâ meant to rehabilitate Michael's public image against the allegations.
It went all the way down to the deposition stage, but I won.
Lisa gave her deposition in Santa Barbara Superior Court, on March 7 and 8, 1997. Seeking to prove their marriage was a PR stunt to clean up Michaelâs public image, Chandlerâs lawyers heavily questioned Lisa about her relationship and marriage to Michael, including their sex life. She most likely had to answer graphic and invasive questions and give descriptions of Michaelâs body (âDo we have sex? Yes, yes, yes!â and âYou are not going to ask me about that, are you? Sorry. About the markings.â; she joked on their 1995 interview, that landed her in the lawsuit).
Lisaâs lawyers immediatly worked to keep the transcript and videotape sealed in court (confidential), which Chandler refused since he wanted to force Michael to pay him $60 million, and now had a leverage (âeither you pay me or your sex secrets will be world newsâ). Her lawyers had to resort to the Court and ask the judge for an emergency protective order to prevent it from leaking to the media stationed outside, and called by Chandler.
In order to secure this, they argued Lisa was improperly dragged into the lawsuit by Chandler to gain publicity, for himself, and to make money off Lisa and Michaelâs private life (by selling the transcript and videotape of her deposition to the media):
The judge agreed to seal Lisaâs deposition right away, and Chandler lost his leverage against Michael. The lawsuit would only end in September 1999, when the court ruled in Michael and Lisaâs favor. In short, he did not breach their settlement terms by proclaiming his innocence on his 1995 Primetime interview because the settlement was a no admission of guilt or wrongdoing from Michaelâs part; as such Chandlerâs lawsuit was dismissed, and Michael didnât pay anything.
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Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley Primetime Interview with Diane Sawyer (June 14, 1995)
I didn't want to be on the front lines, didn't want to make any kind of headlines. I grew up avoiding it and hating the press. I did the interview with Diane Sawyer in 1995 to protect him. I thought he needed me, and I loved that.
âI was really in this lioness thing with him - I wanted to protect him.â
â Lisa Marie Presley: Rolling Stone Interview - April 20, 2003 (via rollingstone)
DS: Sexual attraction?
LMP: I told you everything I said [in the 1995 interview] was the truth.
â Lisa Marie Presley PRIMETIME Interview with Diane Sawyer (2003)
âEverything I said before stands.â
â Lisa Marie Presley Good Morning America interview with Diane Sawyer (March 29, 2005)
It was really nice for me to be able to play the female role for once, where I could take care of my husband.
Very misleading wording, but true, nonetheless.
âI really loved that role and I loved taking care of [Michael]. It was the highest point of my life [âŚ] I've never been comfortable being front and centre, honestly don't like being front and centre. Loved being next to him, taking care of him. I was on such a high from doing that. It was a very profound time of my life.â
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley 1994 MTV Video Music Awards kiss
During the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards, she had no idea he was going to kiss her until right before it happened.
Misleading because Lisa did know Michael was going to kiss her on stage, she just didnât know when, because it wasnât rehearsed; it was a spontaneous kiss. Also, she made it clear the idea didnât come from Michael.
âIt was his managerâs idea. I thought it was stupid. All of a sudden I became part of a PR machine.â
â Lisa Marie Presley: Rolling Stone Interview - April 20, 2003 (via rollingstone)
âAt the 11th hour, he says, "I'm gonna kiss you." I was like, "No, I don't want to do that. Do we have to? That's bullshit." On the way there I kept saying, "Do we have to?" I squeezed his hand so hard that I cut off the circulation. He wouldn't tell me when it was going to happen.â
â Lisa Marie Presley; Playboy Interview, June 6, 2003 (via elvis.com.au)
Eventually, the thought crept into her mind, Did he just do that for press? Was he just another version of her first love who had sold photos from the park? It sparked a fear that maybe he was only around because she was Elvis's daughter, a novelty.
It seemed like a blatant gimmick to prove â to start with â that he was straight.
LMP: Yeah, but again, I wasnât looking at it like that. See, if I had been, that wouldnât have ever happened.â
â Lisa Marie Presley: Rolling Stone Interview - April 20, 2003 (via rollingstone)
âHe told me what he was going to say, which I didn't think made any sense, but I was going along with the machine, not knowing that I was part of the machine.â
â Lisa Marie Presley GQ Magazine January 2004 (via mjfa.forum)
âHe knew that I didn't love [media exposure] and he was okay. He got it. He needed to do his thing, I would be there uncomfortably, like the MTV thing, his hand was blue afterwards after we got off that stage. He showed me and it was completely blue, I had squeezed it so hard! [laugh]. I did not want to do that. It's not in my nature to do that sort of thing. But I understood it as his way of, he needed to do things like that.â
â Lisa Marie Presley Oprah Interview (2010)
She no longer trusted him. She believed Michael no longer trusted her, either [âŚ]
This loss of trust didnât happen in 1994 nor after the VMAs kiss as the âmemoirâ tries to imply.
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Michael Jackson as stepfather to Riley and Ben Keough
We called Michael "Mimi" because my brother couldn't pronounce his name.
Thereâs evidence Riley and Ben Keough did call Michael âMimiâ: the footage of their vacations with Michael, Omer Bhatti, Katherine and Joe Jackson in South Africa, in October 8-16, 1997. Ben is overheard calling Michael âMimiâ and saying âMimi, I want to go with you!â, as he and Riley fought over who was going with Michael down the river. Ben was a 1 year old baby in 1994, so âMimiâ was, indeed, easier for him to say.
At first, we had no idea if they were in a romantic relationship or if this was just a friend she was bringing around. (I like to joke that she was always really good at introducing her kids to the various husbands.) With Mimi, as with others, we would hang out and do activities together long before she would ever tell us that they were in a relationship.
According to other sources, the first time Riley and Ben Keough visited Neverland was February 21, 1994, and Lisa only announced her separation from Danny on April 29 (which contradicts Keough tales of Las Vegas, that Lisa was there with her children).
Michael Jackson, Lisa Marie Presley and her children, Riley and Ben Keough by Dick Zimmerman (August 20, 1994)
Michael lived with us at Hidden Hills. Sometimes we'd stay at Neverland, too, but mostly he was at our house. In Hidden Hills, the call of wild coyotes would send me to sleep, but at Neverland I would wake up to a pet giraffe outside my window.
True, but we just glossed over the time Michael, Lisa and her children spent in Trump Tower, New York, in July-August 1994.
MJ: Lisa didn't live at Neverland. We visited Neverland the way... I lived at her house in the city and every once in a while we visited Neverland. It'd be like our big fun weekend.
SB: And her children liked it?
MJ: Are you kidding me? They were like in heaven.
â Michael Jackson's Conversations With Rabbi Shmuley (August 2000/April 2001)
âI loved him," [Riley] Keough says [of Michael Jackson]. [...] "There were toys everywhere, animals everywhere, kids everywhere [at Neverland], she says. "It was like being at Disneyland all day.â
One day, Ben was on the oak tree swing, in his diaper-he often only wore his diaper or no clothes at all, and he was going really high. He was shouting, "Look, Mimi! Look, Mimi!" wanting to show Michael how high he was swinging, wanting to impress him. But Michael was busy playing with me. My brother fell off backward and hit his head on the ground and began to cry. We all ran over to check on him. The next day he decided to poop under the swing in protest.
This sounds like a embellishment of a tiny incident that happened during their vacations in South Africa. Riley and Ben are playing with a liana while Michael watches over them. Riley, being older, swings flawlessly. Ben was 5 years old, was fully dressed, and falls down after swinging on the vine, and Michael immediatly goes to him, asking if heâs ok, and Ben just laughs it off. It was just a little tumble, and Michael give him an affectionate pat in the head.
Itâs very clear what Keough is implying here: his kids, mostly Ben, were at risk near Michael, and Ben probably didnât like him, that much, since this is second âprotestâ Keough claims his son did about Lisaâs marriage to Michael.
Which is absolutely bullshit; Ben adored Michael. This is very visible on the footage of their vacations where Ben is all over Michael. Ben and Riley even âfightâ on whoâs going with Michael to the river; while Ben begs, Riley starts to cry. In fact, I wouldnât be surprised Ben loved Michael more than his own father, and, being a baby in 1994-1997, had some trouble âunderstandingâ who his real father was, and that caused a lot of tension between Lisa and her ex-husband.
Ben wears a Michael Jackson t-shirt while dining with Lisa, at Mr Chow, London, on October 2009 (four months after Michaelâs death)
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Lisa Marie Presley was close with the Jackson family
His mom would say, "He told you that stuff?" and Janet would say, "Iâve never heard him talk about anything like that." I wished that he would show that side more. He didn't really talk to his brothers much at that point, and I think they were surprised that our relationship was legit. But they thought it was really cool. [âŚ] My mom was very comfortable around Michael's family. She loved having dinner at Hayvenhurst with them.
Lisa was very close with Michaelâs mother, Katherine (they are said to have grieved together at his private funeral), and his eldest sister, Rebbie, with whom she maintained a close friendship for years. She did a voice cameo for one of Janet Jackson songs in âThe Velvet Ropeâ in 1997.
Lisa and Katherine (July 11â17, 1997; London; October 8-16, 1997; South Africa): Lisa and Janet (September 4, 1997); with Austin Brown (Rebbieâs son and Michaelâs nephew) in 2013)
The first reports of how close Lisa truly was with (former) mother in law, Katherine, became public in 1997, when gossip columnist Flo Anthony (lady was on point with some details, totally wrong overall) described seeing them together in London (July 11-15, 1997):
âMrs. Jackson, who [Lisa]âs extremely close to, these two whisper and cackle together through the whole concert! I sat right behind them.â
âShe remains close with matriarch Katherine, presently in reported dispute with her sonâs children. âTheyâre really sweet, incredible people,â Presley says of the Jacksons. âIâve always had a relationship with them. All I can do is wish them the best.â
â Lisa Marie Presley The Times Interview (October 13, 2012)
âI laughed at media suggestions that they were "faking it" because we all knew in the family the intensity of their relationship and how they always wanted to be together. Michael's joy couldn't have been faked. The intimacy you see in the video for âYou Are Not Aloneâ was art imitating life; a sweet glimpse as to how easy they were with one another and how they liked to laugh. Reports that we "loathed" our brother's new wife could not have been further from the truth: she was only ever embraced and there was never one iota of doubt that she had Michael's best interests at heart. She grew particularly close to Janet and Rebbie. When my sisters spent time with Lisa Marie and heard her speak about Michael, they always came away saying the same thing: "That girl is crazy about him!"â
â Jermaine Jackson, from âYou Are Not Alone - Michael: Through a Brother's Eyeâ (2011)
Lisa Marie Presley and Joe Jackson (May 22, 2003)
âI and Debbie [Rowe] have never met, but with Lisa the family keeps in touch also after the divorce. She takes a completely special place in Michael's heart.â
â Joseph Jackson, from âThe Jacksonsâ (2004)
Taj: We only got to meet [Lisa Marie] twice, but she was great. We all got along fine. It was sad when it ended, because we know how special she was to our uncle. Right from the beginning, everyone wanted to see it fail.
â 3T Interview to Smash Hits: 1997 (via mjfa.forum)
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Lisa Marie Presley neverending fertility tales with Danny Keough
Ectopic pregnancy, abortion, scheming to get pregnant, Scientology pressuring her to abort Riley (a topic for another post)âŚ. Literally everything happened to the point it bordelines on ridiculous and unbelievable how it all went down with this one man, and not any of her other husbands or even John Oszajca (to whom she was engaged from late 1999 to March 2001); he and Nicholas Cage are barely mentioned, and Luke Watson is entirely absent. Keeping things in good faith, it might be due to the fear of lawsuits.
On January 12, 2009, Lisa did reveal to âPeople Magazineâ, she suffered miscarriages while trying to get pregnant with her twins by Michael Lockwood. She underwent medical treatment to be able to conceive. This, however, didnât make it to the âmemoirâ, because we are giving everything to Keough.
âThe first time I got pregnant I didn't even know it. During the first four months we dated I had ended up in the ER with horrible pains and they rushed me into surgery. The doctors thought it was my appendix, but when I came around, they told me I'd had an ectopic pregnancy (while they were in there they took my appendix out, too).â
Lisa and Danny started dating around 1986, and I couldnât find any media reports on her being hospitalized during this time. The person who revealed Lisa had an appendectomy was, actually, Michael Jackson, on his interview to the âLondon Mirrorâ, on September 12, 1994. The tabloids were going wild with claims Michael wanted Lisa to get plastic surgery, and reported on her being at an hospital in L.A., at the time. Michael denied these rumours, but confirmed Lisa had been to the hospital:
âThere had been recent reports that Lisa had plastic surgery in an L.A. hospital, her breasts enlarged and liposuction on her hips, at Michaelâs behest. It was preposterous, but I decided to ask him about it, anyway. âRidiculous,â he told me. âJust try telling Lisa Marie what to do. It would never happen. I would not be able to convince her to do anything, let alone plastic surgery. The truth,â he said, âis that she had scar tissue removed from an appendectomy, and dermabrasion on her face to get rid of old acne scars.â
In the same interview, Michael also put an end to the tabloid speculation Lisa was pregnant, a rumour that was going around since August.
âWas Lisa pregnant, as had been reported? "No, that's not true at all, he sighs, "Lisa Marie is not pregnant." But he admits: "Yes, we want to have children. Yes, we will have children." Then he laughs: "Don't rush me."â
I had never gotten pregnant with any other person, which is fascinating because Iâd been equally sloppy, not using birth control or whatever.
Lisa being âsloppyâ and not using birth control before dating Danny Keough is a complete lie.
Lisa, herself, talked about her use of birth control in her teenage years during her interview on âThe Howard Stern Showâ in April 4, 2003, when talking about losing her virginity at 15 to 24 year old boyfriend Scott Rollins (who sold photos of them to the tabloids).
LMP: I met him on a set, my mom was doing a movie. We sort of got this thing going. [âŚ] We had to pretend we were friends for a year, and then [my mother] found my diaphragm. And then it was over. She tried to stop it. It was too late.
HS: Do you use a diaphragm?
LMP: No, not anymore! Well, actually, I donât know⌠It depends.
HS: Donât you find those hard to put in?
LMP: Theyâre harder to get out [laugh]!
Then, the âmemoirâ goes on claiming that, after that ectopic pregnancy, Lisa got pregnant again but had an abortion, which she described as âthe stupidest thing Iâve ever done in my whole lifeâ and she âcouldnât live with herselfâ, even talking to her deceased child.
Then, and because of this abortion, she becomes obsessed in having a child with Danny Keough, and âplanned and plotted and schemedâ, calculating her fertile cycle, and even involving someone else in her plan. Because: âI thought, Iâm going to have this child. There is a child I need to be having.â
According to the âmemoirâ, Lisa tracked down Danny on a cruise ship in the Caribbean (where he was allegelldly performing with his band) and got pregnant on purpose. This is interesting because Lisa and Danny spent their honeymoon aboard the SMV Freewinds cruising in the Caribbean, and she was already pregnant by then.
âThe couple is reportedly spending their honeymoon aboard the SMV Freewinds cruising in the Caribbean.â
Lisa was already two months pregnant when she married Danny Keough, on October 3, 1988. In the âmemoirâ (and in the audiobook itâs actually Lisaâs voice saying this, if Iâm not mistaken), she says Danny, indeed, married her because she was pregnant:
Danny knew he had to marry me. I trapped him. I didn't really mean to, but I did.
This âI didnât really meant toâ, again, contradicts this âschemingâ and âplottingâ described before. In October 13, 2012, in her interview to âThe Timesâ, Lisa did sort of confirmed she âbaby trappedâ Danny Keough, when discussing their marriage:
âI was really young. I wanted to have children young. I felt like I needed to be responsible; they gave me purpose. Iâm very maternal and like nurturing.â
Thereâs two possible scenarios here: (1) Lisa sort of got pregnant on purpose by neglecting her birth control (making the connection to the âsloppy, not using birth control or whateverâ); or she was âsloppy, not using birth control or whateverâ and got pregnant, and wanted to have the child (Riley).
Either way, thatâs very different from the wild claims about a whole scheme and tracking him down on a cruise (which happens to be the same where they spent their honeymoon and she was already pregnant by then).
However, this also contradicts the claim Lisa voluntarily had an abortion, since she admits to wanting to be a mother young, and thatâs her reasoning for dating and wanting to marry Danny Keough. Why would she have an abortion!? The âmemoirâ also says her motivation to get pregnant by Danny was due to this alleged abortion, yet in this interview Lisa says she wanted children because she thought she needed to be responsible.
And this seems to align with this part:
I fell in love with being a mom. I realized I had been called to care for something else. Being a mom was everything to me and Riley was the most precious gem. I was going to do whatever I could possibly do to protect her and raise her.
In 2005, Lisa also came up with a theory about having a âfeelingâ Danny was the right person to have children with, because âit was safe and good to goâ (she would have the same feeling with Michael Lockwood, and we all know how that turned out). She even boasted about having that intuition at such a young age. Which, again, contradicts the claim she had an abortion.
Everything Lisa said about having children with Danny Keough contradicts the claim she would ever have an abortion, so Iâm declaring this:
Lisa might have, indeed, have had an abortion, but not with Keough. The lyrics of her song âHigh Enoughâ (âNow Whatâ, 2005) seem to allude to using drugs or alcohol to forget/cope with the pain and shame of doing something terrible. This abortion could have happened in her teenage years (which can strengthen her motivation in having a child with Danny Keough, actually) or after any of her other relationships.
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Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: The children issue between Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley
Michael really wanted kids with my mom from the minute they got together
Kind of true if we are talking about their actual wedding (May 26, 1994), which both Michael and Lisa confirmed. Not entirely true because they âgot togetherâ (dating) far sooner, and, putting it bluntly, they werenât trying for a baby while she was still married to Keough.
â[âŚ] and she promised me that before we married, that would be the first thing we'd do was have children.â
â Michael Jackson's Conversations With Rabbi Shmuley (August 2000/April 2001)
O: So was there a lot of pressure for you to have a baby?
L: Yes, there was quite a bit. I mean [Michael] wasâŚ
O: From the time you got married?
L: Yes, there was. And I did want to.
â Lisa Marie Presley Oprah Interview (2010)
[âŚ] but she never felt certain about it. She didn't have that feeling she'd had with my father. Whether to have children was a fundamental conflict in their marriage from the start.
âI wanted children and [Lisa] didn't.â
â Michael Jackson's Conversations With Rabbi Shmuley (August 2000/April 2001)
âI am very much in love with Michael, I dedicate my life to being his wife. I understand and support him. We both look forward to raising a family and living happy, healthy lives together.â
â Lisa Marie Presley statement confirming her marriage to Michael Jackson (August 1, 1994)
âDid she want to have children with [Michael]? âIn the beginning, yes.â
â Lisa Marie Presley The Times Interview (October 13, 2012)
Lisa confirmed in three different occasions (including after his death) she did want to have children with Michael. There was no conflict of âWhether to have children or notâ; they were both in the same page on the topic, at the beginning of their marriage.
1) What is this âfeelingâ BS about?
Back in 2005, while promoting âNow Whatâ (and during those years Lisa would later described as being trapped in a âdraconius webâ without knowing it), Lisa came up with an theory/excuse of never having experiencing the same feeling of âitâs safe, itâs good to goâ to have children with someone aside from with Danny Keough. However, at the time, she said she was experiencing again with Michael Lockwood (which the âmemoirâ tries to cover up because itâs BS): âAnd I never thought, to be honest with you, after a long run that Iâd feel it, again, and I do feel now [with Michael Lockwood]. I feel itâs safe, and good to go, yeah.â We all know how that turned out.
2) Why didnât Lisa had children with Michael then if she wanted to?
âMotherhood is my favourite thing. I'm a lioness. A caretaker. I would have 15 children if I could.â
â What I know about men: Lisa Marie Presley (2014) (via Elvis.com.au)
âIn the meantime, Michael has gotten the children he desired, the children Lisa Marie wouldn't - or couldn't - give him, and Debbie has been able to keep her cherished freedom.â
â Debbie Rowe and Tonya Boyd Interview to âNew York Daily Newsâ (April 1998)
D: Did [Michael Jackson] fight you getting a divorce?
LMP: No, he ... I think he got on to, you know, getting somebody else pregnant, right? Or having a baby. That's what he wanted. He seemed to get on that pretty quick. You know, I don't know...
DS: Did it shake your confidence?
LMP: Yeah, I was pretty much needed to be mopped up off the floor after that one.
â Lisa Marie Presley PRIMETIME Interview with Diane Sawyer (2003)
Fact-checking âFrom Here to the Great Unknownâ: Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley dynamic as a couple
At home, they were a regular married couple. They would drive us to school together in the morning, just like a normal family.
âI, honestly, can tell you that it was, in every sense, a normal marriage and everything was spoken. In the middle of the night, if [Michael] needed to wake up and tell me, bounce something off me, and wake me up and wanna talk... if there was trouble... [âŚ] I used to tell him he was a gnome running around the room because it was hard for him to sleep. A lot of times I couldnât sleep either if he wasnât sleeping. Iâd just hear him piddling. It was a bit endearing but then I didnât mind it.â
â Lisa Marie Presley Oprah Interview (2010)
â[Michael] was only kind and loving to me and my family. And I saw them in a very, seemgily, happy, loving relationship. [âŚ] And it was kind of waking up, going into her room, they would take me to school, and, you know, there was a sense of normalcy there.â
â Riley Keough; âAn Oprah Special: The Presleys; Elvis, Lisa Marie and Rileyâ (October 8, 2024)
âI love her. This is serious. [âŚ] I love Lisa Marie. Why won't people believe that? Why won't the public let me be happy? [âŚ] Michael is astonished at the public scorn the announcement attracted. When he was told one of the reasons was because Lisa Marie's press release only discussed her feelings for him, he was perplexed. âWhy should I have to explain how I feel about my wife in a press release?" he asked.â
â Michael Jackson interview âLondon Mirrorâ, September 12, 1994 (via mjfa.forumotion)
âThe one thing I know is that they were in love and that their love for one another was genuine, because I was there and I remember. Everything else I don't know because I wasn't there for.â
You needed someone with money and a name. You were down to a Presley or a McCartney or something like that.
MJ: I know Lisa was great. She was a sweet person.
â Michael Jackson's Conversations With Rabbi Shmuley (August 2000/April 2001)
My mother and Michael were always very sassy with each other. They talked to each other the same way that Delta talked, or Patsy.
Iâm assuming these Delta and Patsy are Delta Mae Presley Biggs (Elvisâ aunt) and Patsy Ruth Presley (Elvisâ cousin)? While Delta was somewhat known to be sassy because of her sharp tongue, and no bullshit approach, Patsy wasnât, really, so this comparison doesnât make any sense and was made by someone who didnât really know either.
Lisa Marie and her auntie Delta; Elvis and Patsy
Delta was known for her outspoken, no filter, strong-willed, yet deeply affectionate personality, and for being fiercely overprotective of Elvis: she did not tolerate the antics of the âMemphis Mafiaâ (Elvis's entourage), and would stand up to them. This sound about right with Lisa going ballistic on Michaelâs handlers and associates, the âvampiresâ and âleechesâ she saw all around him, trying to take advantage.
Patsy was said to be calm and quiet, but extremely loyal to Elvis, keeping his secrets and vulnerabilities safe; she was one of the very few people Elvis trusted completely. However, while Delta was often seen in the grounds of Graceland and standing up to people, Patsy preferred to remain in the background, behind the scenes.
To me, this sounds more like Lisa describing herself with Michael, than how they talked to each other.
Michael Jackson note for Lisa Marie Presley (pull off from auction at Lisaâs request in 2012)
â[Lisa] was a bit like a little girl, yet at the same time exuded great confidence. She would sit right next to Michael - or sometimes in his lap. They would laugh and whisper and call each other silly names, almost like a pair of seventh-graders.
"Doo-doo head, what do you want for dinner?"
They were cute, funny and very comfortable with each other. It was all very real. She would eat with us, laugh with us, joke with us. They might disappear into Michael's lounge for a while, but it was none of our business - we were there to help him create his album. [âŚ] she could feel safe with him, and he with her.â
â Brad Sundberg (inthestudiowithMJ) Facebook tribute to Lisa Marie Presley (January 13, 2023)
âI was there when Lisa Marie was around. They acted like two kids in love. Held hands all the time, and she hung out at the studio for quite a while. I never questioned their love for each other.â
â Rob "Robmix" Chiarelli shares memories of working on the studio with Michael and mentions Lisa (June 27, 2009)
âMichael [Jackson] was also interesting to hang out with. The better I got to know him, the more elusive he seemed. [...] with Lisa Marie Presley, whom he was dating at the time, he would be somebody else entirely. [...] Maybe she brought out the testosterone in him. I don't know.â
â David Foster, from "Hitman: Forty Years Making Music, Topping the Charts, and Winning Grammys" (2008)
Already covered how Lisa saw Michael as a father figure in another post.
