Riley Keough, granddaughter of Elvis Presley and daughter of the late Lisa Marie Presley, recently opened up about her childhood and her mother’s marriage to Michael Jackson during an appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast.
The 35-year-old actress shared candid reflections on growing up amidst the unique circumstances of her family life. Speaking with host Alex Cooper, Keough addressed the public scrutiny surrounding her mother’s relationship with Jackson, particularly in light of allegations against him at the time.
When asked if any adults expressed concern about her being around Jackson during his marriage to Lisa Marie from 1994 to 1996, Keough responded, “I was never told anything. And it’s actually not something I ever asked as an adult.”
Keough described her early years as shaped by her parent’s efforts to shield her from adult issues. “We didn’t know anything,” she emphasized. “We didn’t know about any allegations. We didn’t know. We had no awareness of that.”
Reflecting on the time, Keough added, “It just was what it was. I would imagine that my dad was really heartbroken and reading the news. I would imagine he said all kinds of things to my mom that we didn’t know about.” Keough’s father, Danny Keough, and Lisa Marie were committed to keeping their children out of adult conflicts, Riley explained.
Despite the media frenzy surrounding her mother’s marriage to Jackson, Keough recalled the relationship as genuine. “The one thing I know is that they were in love and that their love for one another was genuine,” she said. When asked about the allegations Jackson faced after their marriage, she said simply, “I don’t know, because I wasn’t there.”
Lisa Marie’s marriage to Jackson, while brief, was a notable chapter in both their lives and a significant part of Keough’s childhood. Her candid remarks reflect the complexities of growing up in one of the most famous families in the world while being insulated from the controversies that surrounded them.