Priscilla Presley and Granddaughter Riley Keough Staying ‘United’ Amid Lawsuit Despite Rocky History

Tensions have been mounting for more than two years. In September 2023, Priscilla Presley’s business partner Brigitte Kruse sued her for alleged breach of contract after Priscilla, Elvis Presley’s ex-wife, abruptly cut off all communications. Kruse claimed she’d been brought in to manage Priscilla’s affairs — they’d formed Priscilla Presley Partners together in 2022 — and to “prevent Priscilla’s financial ruin and public embarrassment” as the former Dallas actress faced nearly $700,000 of tax debt, TMZ reported. Priscilla’s lawyer, Marty Singer, hit back at the time, alleging Kruse and an associate “were attempting to misappropriate” Priscilla’s assets and had been “engaging in other acts of wrongdoing.”

Then last summer, Priscilla, 80, turned the tables and sued Kruse, alleging elder abuse. The Naked Gun star said $1 million had been stolen from her and claimed Kruse and associates, including Kevin Fialko, had forced her into a “form of indentured servitude” by “gaining her trust, isolating her from the most important people in her life, and duping her into believing that they would take care of her,” both personally and financially. “They manipulated and defrauded an older woman during extremely vulnerable moments in her life” — including during the time surrounding daughter Lisa Marie Presley’s 2023 death at 54 — “in an effort to enrich themselves,” Priscilla’s filing stated. Kruse called the suit “retaliatory.”

Now the feud has escalated with shocking new claims. Days before the 48th anniversary of Elvis’ death, Kruse and Fialko filed another lawsuit — alleging fraud and breach of contract and seeking at least $50 million in damages — which they followed with a bombshell-filled amended complaint on Sept. 3. In their filings, they accuse Priscilla of being “ruthless and cunning” and a “calculated sociopath and master of deception who has lived off and exploited the ‘Presley’ name for her own personal gain.” Among the allegations in the explosive court documents: that Priscilla’s greed pushed Elvis into an early grave, making him her “first victim”; and that she took Lisa Marie off life support to control the family trust — claims her attorney has vehemently denied. “Priscilla is upset and deeply troubled by these harmful allegations,” a source tells Star. “Nothing could be further from the truth, and she will have her day in court.”

Saying Goodbye

Also among the brutal claims: that Priscilla denied Lisa Marie’s eldest daughter, actress Riley Keough, 36, the chance to say goodbye to her mother. In January 2023, Lisa Marie collapsed at her Calabasas, Calif., home from cardiac arrest. Unbeknownst to her loved ones at the time, she was suffering from a bowel obstruction — a complication from bariatric surgery she’d had years earlier. “Priscilla rushed to West Hills Hospital, and despite Lisa’s clear [medical] directive to ‘prolong her life’ Priscilla pulled the plug within hours of Lisa being admitted,” Kruse and Fialko’s filing stated, as reported by NBC News, noting that Riley had not yet arrived.

Even more damning, the lawsuit alleges that Priscilla was after her daughter’s money, claiming she saw “an opportunity to regain control” amid Lisa Marie’s ongoing effort to remove Priscilla as the sole trustee of her irrevocable life insurance trust. Lisa Marie’s death, they argue, “neutralized the threat of Lisa’s efforts.” Riley, according to Priscilla’s attorney, People reported, “stands behind her grandmother 100 percent and is equally disgusted with this latest, vicious attempt… to ruin her grandmother’s life.”

Emotional Letter

In their September amended complaint, Priscilla’s former business partners piled on, including as evidence a deeply personal letter allegedly written by Riley to her grandmother that purports to prove that Lisa Marie, Elvis’ only child, was planning legal action against her mother. “Unfortunately Nona as you are taking me to court I am being forced to defend my mother’s wishes legally and publicly which would not have been my choice,” Riley wrote, allegedly referring to how she was forced to push back against Priscilla’s petition contesting the “authenticity and validity” of a 2016 amendment Lisa Marie made to her will. The changes removed Priscilla and the actress’ former business manager as co-trustees, instead putting Lisa Marie’s children in charge (in addition to Riley, the late singer was mom to Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020; twins Finley and Harper, 16, now live with their father, Lisa Marie’s fourth ex-husband, Michael Lockwood, 64). Riley’s lengthy letter seemingly confirmed a “massive falling-out” between Priscilla and Lisa Marie that year, during which Lisa Marie “very loudly and clearly asserted to many people, including you, that she felt you had financially and personally betrayed her and as a result she was taking you off of the trust and replacing you with my brother and me,” People reported.

More shocking, the letter revealed that Priscilla had asked about Lisa Marie’s will virtually before her body was cold. “I found being called about the will, less than 24 hours after my mother passed and getting emails from lawyers before my mother was even buried, incredibly heartbreaking,” Riley wrote.

It’s all been weighing on Priscilla, says the source, explaining it’s been “painful” to see “the letter Riley wrote her just days after Lisa Marie’s death coming to light, painting her in such a terrible way.” Priscilla and her eldest granddaughter “went through a difficult period after Lisa Marie died,” admits the source. But in 2023, they reached a settlement that put Riley in charge and paid Priscilla a lump-sum $1 million payment plus $100,000 a year. The settlement also made Priscilla’s son, musician Navarone Garibaldi Garcia, 38, with ex Marco Garibaldi Garcia, a beneficiary of his late half-sister’s trust and gave Priscilla the right to be buried at Graceland, where she lived with Elvis, after her death. (Kruse and Fialko have filed a separate suit against Navarone.) “They’ve managed to patch things up and they’re closer than ever,” adds the source. In a joint statement, per People, Riley and Priscilla called the claims against them “not only untrue but also deeply hurtful,” adding, “Our family is, and always has been, united in love and respect for one another.”

Suspicious Death

Perhaps the most stunning claim is that Priscilla’s greed caused Elvis’ demise at 42, four years after their 1973 divorce. Kruse and Fialko allege that, knowing she stood to inherit nothing, Priscilla pushed the King of Rock ’n’ Roll into a secret deal and “exerted undue [financial] pressure on Elvis, pushing him to his death,” according to the amended complaint. “Despite enriching herself and extorting millions of dollars from Elvis, she then placed a lien on Graceland on or around April 29, 1977, in the amount of $494,024.49, adding pressure to Elvis less than four months before he died on Aug. 16, 1977, from a heart attack and drug complications,” the filing states. Attorney Singer scoffed, telling TMZ, “These claims by Brigitte Kruse are absurd and ridiculous. We expect her next amendment to claim that Priscilla is responsible for the death of JFK.”

The truth, says the source, is that Priscilla “is the main person responsible for keeping Elvis’ legacy alive.” When she took control of Graceland, his Tennessee estate, in the ’80s, it was in financial trouble. “It was her idea to turn it into a museum and it quickly became a successful tourist attraction,” says the source. Graceland now earns the family millions. “Some people are calling her greedy for holding on to Elvis’ name,” continues the source. “But he was a huge part of her life, beginning when she was 14, and her whole identity revolves around Elvis — it always will.”

With Priscilla’s advancing age, people close to her are worried as she faces a new lawsuit. “She’s anxious all the time,” says the source. “This is not how she wants to spend her life, and at 80, she’s probably more fragile than she lets on. But she has the family on her side.” Priscilla and Riley, the source insists, “are united and determined to fight this lawsuit with everything they’ve got. They will not let these hurtful people tear their family apart.”