It was the most outrageous and puzzling celebrity couplings of the 1990s.
The short lived marriage of the King
of Pop and the sole heir to the King of Rock and Roll caused a worldwide media
sensation, partly due to widespread speculation over its legitimacy.
Despite both Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley remaining
consistent on their feelings for each other for many years,
even post their divorce and up until both of their eventual deaths.
To many, the marriage screamed a publicity stunt.
From the orchestrated photo calls and awards show appearances, to the music
video cameos and prime time interviews, it outwardly appeared
that the relationship primarily functioned for public consumption.
With no private photographs or letters having surfaced, or evidence
that the couple even lived with each other while husband and wife.
If the marriage was a stunt,
the motivations for Michael Jackson were obvious.
Having just come out of a devastating period sparked by child abuse allegations
that sought to destroy him both personally and professionally,
the pop icon was in crisis mode to rehabilitate his career and public image.
Some speculated at the time that in order
to squash stories involving the alleged claims, Jackson needed to quickly switch
focus to him being involved in an even more sensational story.
And what could be more headline grabbing
than a whirlwind showbiz marriage with the offspring of one of music's
highest selling and most significant powerhouses.
However, it takes two to tango, as they say,
and for Lisa Marie Presley, her motivations are less obvious.
For the money? She had plenty of her own.
For fame? Already had that in spades.
To help her music career?
It's probably safe to say the only child of Elvis had plenty of opportunities
to launch herself without going to the extreme of marrying Michael Jackson.
Of course, we could put it down to Lisa Marie simply falling madly in love
with Jackson that motivated her enough to enter this whirlwind tabloid marriage.
However, another possibility that at the time circulated among
conspiracy minded former members is an astounding theory
that Presley's Church, the Church of Scientology,
played a crucial hand in arranging the Presley Jackson Union.
As in 1994, Lisa Marie Presley was a very
active member, having been a Scientologist since his childhood when her mother,
Pracilla, is said to have joined the Church soon after Elvis's death.
Years later, Pracilla heavily relied on the Church's guidance when she
discovered that her teenage daughter was experimenting with drugs,
eventually moving Lisa Marie in for more intense rehabilitation.
In 1988, at the age of 20, Lisa Marie Presley married a prominent
Scientologist, Danny Keough, whom she met while living
at the Scientology center, and they subsequently had two children together.
However, in May 1994, their union was quickly
and quietly dissolved, seemingly out of nowhere,
and Presley would marry Jackson in the Dominican Republic a few days later.
Scientology has been known to tell people
to get divorced or married for public relations purposes,
stated Lawrence Wollersheim, a former Scientology celebrity handler.
Only adding to these suspicious circumstances was that Danny Keough's
younger brother and his wife, fellow high level Scientologists,
were the only official witnesses of the Jackson Presley nuptials.
Presumably, they were present to oversee
the ceremony as prominent members of the Church, rather than for personal
reasons, supporting his brother's ex wife swiftly marrying another man.
The plot thickens and further as
the Church of Scientology issued an official statement soon after
the marriage of Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson was announced, wishing
the newlyweds, quote, the very best for a joyful future.
Surprising many that the Church would
publicly support a prominent member divorcing another Scientologist to marry
a non member unless they had an undisclosed interest in their union.
Ex Church members often stated
that interfaith marriages were rare and were certainly not encouraged.
It was assumed that Lisa Marie would not be able to stay married to Michael if he
did not also become a Scientologist himself.
Amid coverage of the rumored wedding of Presley and Jackson,
it was also reported that Jackson had begun studying Scientology.
When asked whether that's true,
spokesmen for Jackson and for Scientology, both said they didn't know.
Neither confirming nor denying the mounting speculation.
So what did this add up to?
A hot theory among former Scientologists
was that the Church had previously selected Jackson for recruitment
and in the words of Wollersheim, used Lisa Marie as the bait.
Stars are heavily recruited,
and you can be sure that Michael Jackson was targeted.
Ex members concluding that the only reason
why Lisa Marie would divorce the father of her children and marry Michael was
simply because she was told to do so by leaders in her Church.
Michael Jackson may have not been tempted by a union with any other Scientologist,
but one with Lisa Marie Presley offered a unique opportunity to align himself
with the musical legacy and had the potential to become
the ultimate entertainment empire merger between music's biggest family dynasties.
A complete fabrication, responded Karen Powyl,
an LA spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology.
In a statement provided to the press,
Powyl added, There is no factual substance to the rumor
that there is a project to recruit celebrities.
However, it's undeniable that the Church
has long treasured and targeted celebrities to become members.
At one point setting up no less than 13
locations around the globe named Scientology's celebrity centers,
the Church's social hub for its most famous and glamorous of members.
For them, the association with show business provided them with legitimacy,
publicity, and of course, stars also bring with them lots of cash
and act as magnets for other high profile prospective members.
One of my jobs was to get celebrities
active, to convince them to hustle and promote Scientology.
Recalled Robert Von Young,
who spent 20 years in the Church, much of that time as a publicity officer.
As early as 1955, the Church offered plaques and free
seminars to persuade followers to bring in celebrity clientele.
The hunt was dubbed Project Celebrity,
and later Church documents pointed out the importance of using celebrity
Scientologists to mold the opinions of the wider public.
Famous members of Scientology,
both past and present, include Tom Cruise, John Travolta,
Kirstie Alley, Elizabeth Moss, Juliette Lewis, and Doug E
Fresh.
So if this theory is true,
why would Scientology go to such lengths to recruit Michael Jackson?
Well, first of all, Michael Jackson was and remains to this
day, one of the world's most famous and celebrated entertainers of all time.
His position and influence are unparalleled.
And if Jackson was to become a billboard
for Scientology after resuracting his prolific career,
as well as finding marital bliss in a fulfilling family life,
it would have generated a level of publicity and public interest
that could have taken the Church of Scientology to the next level.
After years of being denied religious exemption, the IRS granted the mother
Church tax exempt status the year before, giving them the legitimacy and extra funds
needed to achieve their ultimate goal of world domination.
What also made Michael Jackson a prime
candidate for recruitment, according to ex members, was his vulnerability.
His career had diminished,
he remained under suspicion, and he had recently been in drug rehabilitation.
Since
leaving the Jehovah's witness faith in 1987, his life had progressively
spiraled into turmoil, and he was a perfect target
for the authoritarian, high influence techniques of Scientology.
It's been a year fighting charges of child abuse.
People in the Church say, We can fix you, help you back.
Former Scientologist, Lawrence Wollersheim, commented.
Judge Hugo Francisco Alvarez Perez, who officiated the Presley Jackson
ceremony, told news outlets that, I got the feeling Jackson was being led.
It was as if he wasn't making the decisions.
If Jackson were curious about Scientology, several ex members say he would probably
receive private instruction from an advanced auditor.
He would start with communications classes
before moving on to subjective processing, where his answers to questions would be
measured by an E meter, an electronic device resembling a polygraph machine.
If a person has a serious secret, the auditor will go for that secret.
It can get hairy,
he may delve into sexual areas.
It's like a priest in confession,
the difference being that a priest doesn't keep records that are seen by others.
Critics warned that if Jackson was
audited, he could have become even more vulnerable.
If they could get him to where he started
telling his personal secrets, the chances of him walking away would diminish.
That's the control point.
They've got him, said Young, who left the Church in 1989
and was an aide to Scientology head David Miscavige.
Some may have argued that the King of Pop's
adoption of the religion initially looked promising as soon after
the Presley Jackson marriage was announced, the Church of Scientology
publicly demonstrated their commitment to a strongly held passion of Michael's,
improving the lives of children around the world.
In the words of Scientology founder L.
Ron Hubbard, when children become unimportant
to a society, that society has forfeited its future.
In the UK, members of the Church of Scientology organized and hosted
a concert entitled The Children of the World that drew thousands,
featuring soul singer Isaac Hayes and Michael's very own brother, Jermaine.
Hayes, also a scientologist,
told the crowd, This is for the children, and we need to remember they will be
the adults of tomorrow as we try to make this a better world.
Capping off the concert with more than 20
children on stage with them, Hayes and Jackson sang a duet.
The concert raised an estimated $38,000
for charity and was very reminiscent of the messaging and imagery
of Michael Jackson's own charitable foundation, Heal the World.
Such events may have been an attempt by the Church of Scientology to signal
to Jackson how closely aligned their individual missions were.
That united, they could change the world
for the better and have a far greater impact than if they went at it alone,
suggesting that rather than being prayed upon, Michael could have potentially seen
the religion and their collaboration as just another way he could leverage his
considerable influence to achieve wider philanthropic ambitions.
However, this merger of sorts didn't pan out as either party had intended.
Soon after their nuptials, the newly weds drifted apart.
Michael likely stopped attending Scientology meetings,
focusing his energies on recording his next album in New York City.
Lisa Marie largely remained in Los Angeles,
raising her children and rekindling things with her ex husband, Danny Keough.
They attended the Scientology Center
together and even vacationed with each other and their children in Hawaii.
In an ABC Primetime live interview,
Diane Sawyer mentions her relationship with her ex husband and specifically asks
Lisa Marie about the rumors that Scientology played a big part
in orchestrating her marriage to Michael Jackson.
I've heard that it's a Scientology plan.
You are a member of the Church of Scientology, which is said to influence
its members greatly, and that the husband you divorced was
scientologist, and he's still very much in your life.
And this is all part of a calculation
to get Michael and his money into the Church.
In response,
Presley offered up a frustrated and confused answer,
making the overly simplified statement, You can't get influenced by anything.
Which may have demonstrated the Presley daughter's naivety when it
came to how she could be manipulated by those around her for their own benefit.
It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.
First of all, you can't get influenced by anything like that.
And under a term of a marriage, I'm not going to marry somebody for any
reason other than the fact that I fall in love with them, period.
Period.
And they can eat it if they want to think anything different.
To put it succinctly. Yeah.
The first to point this out was her mother, Priscilla,
who was cordial to Jackson during their marriage, but later expressed openly her
concerns about the union and what motivations he may have had.
I do feel that there was an agenda there
too, though, because I think he wanted children and he wanted her children.
Ahh.
Mother, what are you doing right now?
One bone of contention for the couple was Michael's eagerness to start a family.
Lisa Marie stalled on the idea,
later expressing that Michael had concerning outside influences and she
needed to feel that they were fully connected, tight as a unit,
before she could commit to bringing children into the picture.
Although Lisa Marie Presley was speaking more broadly, could these statements
reference a concern she had for Michael's spiritual wellbeing due to his lack
of commitment to joining her in Scientology,
therefore causing a barrier between them that led to their eventual split?
When asked specifically about Scientology
during that Diane Sawyer interview, Michael Jackson is respectful but also
absolute that he was not a scientologist.
To finish up on that, though, are you a scientologist or-? No.
No? Plan to become one?
I believe in spirituality and I believe
in a higher source such as God, but I'm not a scientologist.
I read everything. I like to read.
I love to study.
You said you don't sleep in separate bedrooms, and I'm going to confess.
Having already experienced the continual demands of being a member of the Jehovah
Witnesses, which you can learn more about by checking
out our video on the subject, link in the description box below,
Michael wasn't about to fall back into another authoritative religious sect.
The King of Pop's plan for his triumphant comeback didn't include him being
controlled, whether by his legal wife or her oppressive, clout chasing Church.
The marriage between Jackson and Presley
ended in less than two years since their secret ceremony in the Dominican Republic.
Michael quickly moved on to have children with his dermatologist's assistant,
and Lisa Marie was left devastated by the whole ordeal.
Soon after Lisa's divorce,
Danny Keough came back into the picture, and they became close again.
In a 2003 interview with the Commercial Appeal,
Presley commented on reports that she and Keough were planning to remarry.
Danny is my best friend, always has been, always will be.
I love him, unconditionally, but we are not together.
It's not like that.
In 2005, Danny Keough was a bass guitar player
in Presley's band and also served as her musical mentor.
Presley still regarded him as a close
friend and he lived in the guest house on Presley's property.
Presley described her relationship with Keough after they separated.
I don't know how, but we've managed to stay close.
There are others that I have pain or betrayal associated with that I don't have
anything to do with, but he and I had a special thing, unconditional.
Throughout the years,
Lisa Marie Presley was absolute when it came to her relationship
with Michael Jackson, maintaining that it was as genuine as any other marriage.
It was a real marriage like between a husband and wife.
It was a consumated marriage. It was.
Okay, that's all. I wasn't, yeah, that's all.
Some may argue that her loyal
and consistent narrative their union over the years, despite their messy separation,
proves that the marriage was, in fact, the real deal.
However, ex members of the Church of Scientology have contested
that Lisa Marie continued to maintain her story because to expose the true nature
of her relationship with Michael Jackson would also expose the devious inner
workings of a Church she was very much still a part of.
Although Presley eventually left Scientology in 2014,
it made sense for Lisa Marie Presley to stay on the script and not speak out
against the Church that influenced so many of her life decisions.
This is just a theory, but what do you think?
Do you think Scientology may have had
a part to play in Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley's marriage?
If you want to hear Lisa Marie Presley
talk extensively about her and Michael Jackson's complex connection
in her own words, then check out our video on this very subject.
For more Michael Jackson investigations and compilations, consider subscribing.
Thank you for watching the detail. We'll see you next time.