Why Priscilla Presley Didn’t Want Her Daughter to Marry Michael Jackson
Priscilla Presley revealed a lot about her personal life — in addition to her daughter’s personal life. Lisa Marie Presley famously married Michael Jackson. Here’s how the King of Pop looked in Priscilla’s eyes.
Why Priscilla Presley didn’t want Lisa Marie Presley to marry Michael Jackson
The Guardian reports Lisa Marie married Jackson in 1994. At that time, Jackson was “engulfed in sexual abuse allegations.” Priscilla was distraught by the marriage, though she did not cite the sexual abuse allegations as a reason for her distress. Interestingly, she compared it to her own experience of marrying a musical superstar.
“Lisa knew I wasn’t happy about her marrying Michael Jackson,” she told The Guardian. “We had issues over it because of my experience of marrying somebody with that same iconic status and in a strange way maybe history was repeating itself… And maybe she saw something of Elvis in Michael. As her mom though I was concerned as I could see it could be a disaster. At that point, the right thing to do would have been to bite my tongue, but I didn’t bite my tongue.”
So why did Priscilla think the marriage could end poorly? “You know, I just didn’t know if it was authentic or not.,” she told The Guardian. “I just worried about if she was doing the right thing. I worried about… his agendas.” Priscilla did not explain what Jackson’s agendas were.
What Priscilla Presley thought of Michael Jackson as a person
So did Priscilla ever meet Jackson? “A few times,” she recalls. “He was sweet. But I think he was a bit nervous of me.” She laughed, saying “Well, I’m the mother-in-law!”
Although Priscilla had issues with her daughter’s marriage, she understood why it happened. She said Jackson was childlike and wanted to have fun at all times. She saw that as an attractive quality. In addition, Priscilla feels Lisa Maria may have noticed similarities between her father and Jackson. However, she felt Jackson’s childlike qualities separated him from the real world.
The impact the marriage had on pop culture
So where did the marriage go from there? Perhaps the most famous moment from the marriage of Lisa Marie and Jackson was when they appeared in one of Jackson’s music videos: “You Are Not Alone.” The video includes a scene based on a famous painting by Maxfield Parrish called Daybreak. In a scene of the video, Lisa Marie and Jackson take on the roles of the figures in the painting. “You Are Not Alone” was Jackson’s final No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Clearly, their marriage had some cultural resonance.
However, The Washington Post reports Lisa Marie filed for divorce from Jackson in 1996. Regardless, their marriage had some impact on pop culture — even if Priscilla had a negative view of it.
