Priscilla Presley has criticised Michael Jackson's marriage to her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, calling it a manipulative move to exploit the Presley dynasty. In her new memoir, Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, the 80-year-old writes that she was 'appalled' by the union, which lasted from 1994 to 1996.
According to excerpts published by The Sun, Priscilla claims Jackson, who died in 2009, was not genuinely in love with Lisa Marie but sought to boost his public image amid child abuse allegations, which he denied. She wrote: 'Michael was a manipulative man, and I think he had his sights set on her long before she realised it. The childlike innocence he projected was part of his public mask.'
Priscilla also questioned the physical nature of their relationship, writing: 'I asked her if they had a physical relationship. Like so many people, I wasn’t sure. She said “Yeah.”' Lisa Marie, who died in 2023 at age 54, addressed Jackson's virginity and the abuse allegations in her own posthumous memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown.
Reflecting on what Elvis Presley would have thought, Priscilla wrote that after Lisa Marie filed for divorce, 'I could practically hear Elvis sigh with relief.' The memoir is published tomorrow.
