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Lisa Marie Presley's interview with Oprah last week gave the public a rare look into her relationship with Michael Jackson and how even she didn't fully understand it until after his untimely death, a year and a half ago.
I gotta tell you, Lisa Marie Presley has always kind of turned me off. I don't know if it's the monotone voice, the retro-sixties eye makeup or the lack of public charisma, but I've never found myself very interested in her life. That is until she married Michael Jackson.
At the time I remember thinking it was probably a good match. After all, she was the daughter of Elvis Presley and he and Michael had so much in common: the massive talent, the level of public adoration, the fan-enforced isolation, the power to create whatever world they wanted, for good or ill.
Like Michael's friendship with Brooke Shields, another highly scrutinized Hollywood kid, it made sense that Lisa Marie and Michael would be kindred spirits.
On Oprah, she talked about their marriage, their breakup and how she wishes she could have saved him.
Though the timing of the interview might seem strange, Presley said she wanted to do the it now because next year she has an album coming out and doesn't want to have to address all the Michael Jackson questions at that time.
I get the feeling she wasn't looking for public sympathy and that's a good thing because I don't think she'll get much. Partly I think that's because she was being honest, and partly because she came off as cold and distant. She did however look nervous throughout the interview -- almost like she was telling tales out of school.
Having said that, Lisa Marie's never catered to the publicity machine of Hollywood except when she needed to for Michael--remember the 1994 Video Music Awards kiss heard 'round the world?--so I don't particularly think she cares what the public thinks of her image now.
It's interesting that she told Oprah she only started dealing with her feeling for Michael after he died. It also sounds like she's had a whole lot of therapy since then and I can only think that's a good thing for her current marriage to Michael Lockwood.
Lisa Marie said it wasn't until after his death that she realized how much she loved him and regretted the anger and bitterness that had kept her from reaching out to him after they were no longer together.
She answered all the hot button questions, but I'll paraphrase what she meant:
- Yes, she and Michael had a "real" marriage with sex and everything.
- Yes, she knew about his problems with drugs but just like with her dad, Michael was so powerful in his world that if he didn't want to hear what you were saying, he wouldn't.
- No, she never saw anything that resembled anything inappropriate between Michael and any kids.
- She heard about his death via several text messages and phone calls, one of the first from John Travolta.
- Yes, she wanted to have children with him but wanted to make sure their relationship was solid first.
- Yes, she felt shoved aside when Michael said if she didn't want to have a baby, Debbie Rowe would.
Lisa Marie appeared almost puzzled by having had two such talented and tortured people in her life, but as Oprah implied, you don't need a degree in psychology to assume that Lisa Marie was drawn to Michael precisely because he had so much in common with her late father: That's the kind of person she loved the most, felt the most comfortable with and, as she told Oprah, loved taking care of.
One of the very highest points of my life was when things were going really well and he [Michael] and I were united together and he and I had an understanding about some of the people and things that could go on around
