Amid thelegal battle for controlof her late daughter’s trust,Priscilla Presleyis looking toward the future with “integrity and love.”
The actress, 77, shared a statement with PEOPLE on Friday that alluded to the drama behind the scenes of daughterLisa Marie Presley’s trust, and explicitly called out “an individual” with whom she is frustrated for “trying to speak on behalf of our family.”
“I loved Elvis very much as he loved me. Lisa is a result of our love,” Priscilla’s statement began. “For anyone to think anything differently would be a travesty of the family legacy and would be disrespectful of what Elvis left behind in his life.”
Though she did not name names, Priscilla then made reference to “an individual that bought their way into the family enterprise that is trying to speak on behalf of our family.”
“This person is not a representative of Elvis or our family. Please allow us the time we need to work together and sort this out,” she concluded her statement. “Please ignore ‘the noise.’ As I have always been there for Elvis' legacy, our family and the fans, I will continue to forge a pathway forward with respect, honesty, dignity, integrity and love.”
Priscilla Presley and Lisa Marie Presley.Bryan Steffy/WireImage
“Everyone knew that when Elvis passed away, he left everything to his little girl. He did so knowing that she would be the one to keep his legacy going,” Weinshanker said. “We got along so well because we were both trying to do what was best for Elvis, regardless of what somebody else was trying to do, regardless of what a family member would do.”
Weinshanker said friend Lisa Marie — who died on Jan. 12 at age 54 — “couldn’t be bought,” and that she was “quite certain” and “very direct” about who she wanted to carry on her family legacy.
“We discussed this many many times [before] she passed, and that was always Riley and Ben,” he said of her kids Riley Keough and the late Benjamin Keough, whom she shared with ex-husband Danny Keough. “There was never a question in her mind that they would be the stewards, that they would look at it the exact same way that she did. And obviously when Ben passed, it really sat with Riley.”
Riley Keough and Lisa Marie Presley in 2012.John Sciulli/WireImage
Weinshanker also insisted that although Riley has a thriving acting and directing career, she “always had an interest” and “knew that one day she would be in charge” of her mother’s trust.
The weeks following Lisa Marie’s death have beenfraught with tensionwithin her immediate family as Priscilla attempts to wrangle control of the late star’s trust from Riley.
Attorneys for Priscilla filed a petition in Los Angeles in January questioning the “authenticity and validity” of a 2016 amendment to Lisa Marie’s trust, which removed Priscilla as a co-trustee and put Keough in charge.
It remains unclear just how long the legal battle ahead lies for the family, though a hearing for the matter is set for April 13.
source: people.com
