On January 12th, 2023,
the world was saddened when news broke that Lisa Marie Presley,
the only child of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, and former wife
of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, had tragically died at the age of 54.
Her sudden passing.
Even more shocking,
as her last public appearance was only two days before at the 80th
Golden Globe Awards. Which she attended with her mother,
Priscilla, to celebrate the huge success of Elvis the movie. Appearing in high
spirits during red carpet interviews where she praised the film's cast and production.
An occasion that was significant to the proud daughter honoring her
father's immense musical and cultural legacy.
However, despite outward appearances,
Lisa Marie Presley's life overall was defined by tragedy
she kept away from the glare of the public
eye. Drug addiction, depression, tragic deaths and personal turmoil.
History inevitably repeated itself despite
her best efforts to not fall into such a predictable trap.
Dying young, her sudden cardiac arrest
and final demise mirroring that of her father, as well as her former husband,
Michael Jackson. A highly publicized marriage and divorce
that caused a sensation and gripped the attention of the world.
Their relationship was one of the most talked about celebrity unions
of the 1990s, and their split was just as dramatic. With rumors of infidelity,
falsehoods and inside arguments circulating in the press.
Their union fell apart after only 18
months, resulting in Lisa Marie filing for divorce in January 1996.
Michael was reportedly devastated by the divorce, with many of his friends
noting that he never fully recovered from the end of their relationship.
For Lisa Marie,
the marriage and subsequent divorce was a steep learning curve for her,
a journey of discovery about herself, her father and life coping within
the bubble of super fame. A lasting impact that affected Presley up
until her final moments, some positive and yet others detrimental.
Here's the detail.
An emotional wreck.
One of the immediate impacts her divorce
from Michael Jackson had been on her emotional well being,
later revealing that the split was a very traumatic experience for her
and that behind the scenes she struggled with depression and emotional as well as
physical consequences in the years that followed.
Lisa Marie revealing, in her own words, the turmoil she was in due to the highly
stressful and heartbreaking outcome of the relationship.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lisa Marie said that she felt like she had
lost a part of herself in the divorce and that she had to go through a period
of self discovery to figure out who she was without Michael Jackson.
A new reality where she had to do some serious soul searching into why she got
herself into that whole situation in the first place,
as well as deal with the judgment and relentless ridicule she would be
subjected to once out of her self imposed isolation.
God, so much because it took me a good two years to come out of that.
And I mean physically, mentally, I went through a lot to remove myself out
of that because you sort of fall into a way of thinking and existing when
you're in that bubble and it took me a long time to detach myself.
Hollywood Reputation
There is no doubt that Lisa Marie Presley's shocker marriage
to Michael Jackson had a huge impact on her overall public image.
As up until that point,
Lisa Marie was largely remembered as the grieving child of a legendary icon
of rock and roll and part of the country's most beloved musical dynasty.
While she had always been known as the daughter of Elvis Presley,
her marriage to Michael Jackson catapulted her personal life into the spotlight
in a way that she had never experienced before.
After the marriage ended,
she was now mainly famous for being the punchline in late night standup
routines and labeled as just another member of Showbiz's 'Hollyweird',
with her reputation left in tatters. Due to the speculation that surrounded
their marriage and the increasingly bizarre public image Michael Jackson had
in the tabloids, lisa Marie Presley found herself greatly overshadowed by her past
relationship and constantly felt the need to explain herself.
In a 2003 sit down with Diane Sawyer,
the interviewer pulled no punches in her questioning.
Quote, Michael Jackson?
Why did you marry Michael Jackson?
What were you doing?
Presley hinted that the private Jackson
was very different to the man the public thought they knew.
Quote, It's unfortunate that not a lot
of people know who he really is because he doesn't let anybody see it.
If he wants to lock into you and he wants to intrigue you and capture you
and whatever he wants to do with you, he can do it.
I fell in love with him.
I did.
Everything I said was the truth.
However, despite her explanations,
it felt as though this period in her life would forever follow her. Unknowingly,
Lisa Marie had chosen the only man that could ever come near to out trumping
her father's long shadow that dominated her reality.
As in every interview, she would be asked about Michael,
and if not Michael, then it would be her father, Elvis.
The ability to be seen as an independent
entity, having been stolen away from her instead of questions about her life,
thoughts and projects, the value she offered to others continued
to be wrapped up in the men that populated her life.
Whether her legendary father or her unconventional ex husband.
Daddy issues
In many ways, her divorce from Michael was a turning point in her life,
and it forced her to confront her traumatic past and own struggles.
Closure really came in 2009 after
Michael Jackson's tragic passing. When she could truly see the parallels
and the lives of the two men she had been defined by.
In an interview with Oprah, Lisa Marie reflected quote they had
the luxury of creating whatever reality around them they wanted to create,
stating that jackson constantly asked her about the details of Elvis's death because
he felt that he was, quote, going to end up the same way.
The King's daughter, stating, quote the exact scenario I saw happen
on August 16th, 1977, happened again with Michael, just as he predicted.
On the verge of bankruptcy and widely
considered as has been their long standing addictions to prescription drugs resulted
in a final overdose, them both suffering from cardiac arrests. In the coming days
articles analyzing the similarities between Jackson and Presley were
ubiquitous and inevitable, considering the similarities in their
careers, triumphant paths and tragic downfalls.
Seeing the path Michael was going down while they were together,
Lisa Marie felt the overwhelming urge to steer Jackson away from tragedy as
redemption for the father she never had the chance to save.
Quote I became very ill and emotionally spiritually exhausted in my quest to save
Michael from certain self destructive behavior, Lisa Marie Presley reflected.
Also telling Oprah, quote, there was a very profound point in the marriage when he had
to make a decision was it the drugs and the vampires or me?
And he pushed me away.
I still try to figure out why.
What is it that I had to go through this twice?
I went through it once.
That was painful and I went through it again.
If you would like to hear more about
Michael Jackson and Elvis's eerie similarities, both personally and in their
careers, we would recommend our video on this very subject.
Aside from Jackson, in recent years, Lisa Marie Presley has faced her fair
share of personal hardships, including her continued battle
with addiction and the tragic death of her 27 year old son, Benjamin Keough in 2020.
Another person in Marie's life she undoubtedly spent years trying to help,
but was left defeated after her son ultimately gave up on his own battles.
A pain that runs deeper for a mother due to their innate instinct to help
and protect their own children, no matter the personal cost.
Some speculate that Lisa Marie Presley
eventually died of a broken heart. The sudden death causing great loss
for her family, particularly her younger children, marking the end of a life
in the public eye filled with personal struggle and tragedy.
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Thank you for watching the detail.
We'll see you next time.