Priscilla Presley’s ex denies molesting Lisa Marie: ‘shocked’ by complaint

michael edwards denied allegations that he had previously sexually abused a child at the time Lisa Maria Presley during a time when he dated her mother, Priscilla Presley.

“These claims are absolutely false,” said Edwards, 80, Page six in a statement dated Thursday, October 10. “I never molested Lisa Marie and I am appalled by the suggestion that I did.”

Edwards previously wrote about his relationship with Priscilla in his 1988 memoir, Priscila, Elvis and mewhere he also stated that he was sexually attracted to Lisa Marie.

“I was encouraged to embellish a harmless anecdote about Lisa Marie in my 1980s memoir and now I regret doing so,” Edwards added. Page six. “I understand that these stories sell books, but the notion that I molested Lisa Marie is just a fabrication.”

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Edwards dated Priscilla, now 79, for nearly seven years in the 1980s following her divorce from the late rock star Elvis Presley. In Lisa Marie’s posthumous memoirs From here to the Great Unknownshe claimed to have been a victim of rape.

Lisa Marie claimed that the Dear Mom actor had a “horrible temper” and attacked her for the first time when she was 10 years old. In a passage from the book, Lisa Marie stated that “I woke up and found him on his knees next to my bed, running his finger up my leg under the sheets, and if I moved, he would stop – so I moved.”

Lisa Marie then told her mother what happened the next day, who later explained that Edward was eager to apologize for his actions.

“Edwards was sitting on their bed looking very glum and moody. He said, ‘I’m sorry, but in Europe that’s how they teach children, so that’s what I was doing,’” wrote Lisa Marie. “I didn’t know what to say. I would always feel bad for him when he apologized. Eventually he would touch me and hit me, telling me not to look – ‘Don’t look at me,’ he would say, ‘Don’t turn your head.’ I assume he was masturbating.

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Priscilla, for her part, has not publicly addressed the allegations.

Lisa Marie’s memoir was released earlier this week. It was completed by his eldest daughter Riley Keough thanks to audio recordings, nearly a year after the late “Storm & Grace” singer’s death at age 53.

“I am so proud and in awe of my mom, she somehow lived honestly and truthfully all the time, no matter how uncomfortable it was for her or the people around her,” Keough, 35, wrote via Instagram on 3 of October. It was a really aspirational quality and just being around her was liberating.”

She added: “That’s also how she approached her autobiography. I know her intention was to tell a human story and connect with people in telling it. I feel incredibly lucky to have had the chance to finish it for her.”

Lisa Marie is survived by her mother and three daughters. She shared Riley and late son Benjamin with her ex Danny Keoughas well as 16-year-old twins Harper and Finley, with her ex-husband Michael Lockwood.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).