Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley’s marriage came at a time of heightened speculation and rumors surrounding the King of Pop. It was only a year after the singer faced and denied allegations he abused a 13-year-old boy. He also faced rumors that his marriage to Presley was a mere publicity stunt in order to repair his image.

However, another rumor going around had to do with the Church of Scientology.

There were many who believed the church was trying to manipulate Presley into marrying Jackson, so he could become a member. This is something Presley herself denied on several occasions. However, after her death, a previously unreleased interview was published where she made allegations regarding the church’s true intentions.

Lisa Marie Presley Alleged The Church Of Scientology Was Trying To Recruit Michael Jackson
In 1994, Presley married Jackson after recently divorcing her first husband, Danny Keough, with whom she had two children.

At the time, there was a lot of speculation that the Church of Scientology was hatching a plan with Presley to bring Jackson’s celebrity status and fortune into the church.

Some pointed to the close timeline of Presley’s divorce from Keough and her marriage to Jackson. Some have said the Church of Scientology influences its members to marry or divorce for publicity purposes. Many also found it odd when the church released a statement congratulating Presley and Jackson. The reason being that it was an interfaith marriage, since Jackson wasn’t a Scientologist.

This led many to believe Jackson was in fact going to convert to the religion.

At the time, Presley denied the church was trying to convert Jackson when speaking to Diane Sawyer in a 1995 interview. She once again denied these rumors in her 2003 interview with Sawyer.

Following Presley’s death in 2023, The Underground Bunker’s Tony Ortega published a previously unreleased interview with Presley. In the interview, Presley said the church did want to recruit Jackson, but gave up once “they realized he was getting too much bad press.”

Lisa Marie Presley children Harper and Finley

Presley also said that while the church didn’t pressure her to marry Jackson, they allegedly did pressure her to leave him.

“I was in love with Michael, believe it or not,” she said. “I didn’t want to leave him. He was in trouble and I wanted to help him. And they made sure that I left him.”

Michael Previously Faced Difficulties With Religion And Left The Jehovah’s Witnesses
When speaking with Sawyer in 1995, Jackson denied that he was a Scientologist and said he didn’t plan to join the religion.

“I believe in spirituality and I believe in a higher source, such as God, but I’m not a Scientologist,” Jackson said. “I read everything. I like to read. I love to study.”

Jackson and his siblings were raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses, which is their mother Katherine’s religion. Jackson and his mother would even go door-to-door looking for converts, as many within the religion do. This is something that continued well into Jackson’s adulthood, although the superstar would wear a disguise.

However, as Jackson’s fame and popularity grew, support from those within the religion lessened. Jackson’s dance moves and music were criticized by members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Things came to a head when Jackson’s “Thriller” short film was about to be released.

When certain Jehovah’s Witness members caught wind of the film’s content, particularly the occult themes, they threatened to ex-communicate Jackson. This upset the singer so much, he reportedly asked that the film be destroyed.

However, that didn’t happen, as the idea for a disclaimer to precede the clip was proposed to Jackson instead.

The disclaimer read, “Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult.”

While this worked for the time being, Jackson would eventually leave the Jehovah’s Witness religion years later. Some believe that Jackson wanted to stay away from religion after battling for acceptance within the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Lisa Always Maintained Her Marriage To Michael Was Real
Following Presley’s divorce from Jackson, she maintained a low profile until her debut album “To Whom It May Concern” was released in 2003.

While promoting the album, Presley was often asked about her marriage to Jackson. These questions would continue during the press tour to promote her follow-up “Now What” in 2005. During these interviews, Presley maintained that she was truly in love with Jackson and that was her only motivation for marrying him.

However, when speaking about their marriage, Presley would sometimes allude to a belief that Jackson had used her. This seemed to confirm public suspicion back in the mid-90s.

After Jackson passed away in 2009, Presley sat down with Oprah Winfrey a year later for an interview. During the conversation, she spoke about her newfound understanding of Jackson. Presley explained that since Jackson was raised to get ahead in his career from the time he was a child, he didn’t know how to approach situations any other way.

She claimed that Jackson’s ways felt manipulative, but it wasn’t deliberate. It was, she said, because “he didn’t know any better.” She said that during their relationship, she took it personally and believed it meant he didn’t love her.

When Winfrey asked Presley if it took Jackson dying for her to realize he loved her, she said, “I think so sadly.”

Presley also said that she didn’t appreciate how much effort Jackson put into keeping their relationship together. She also said that the anniversary of Jackson’s death will always be a hard day for her, just like the anniversary of her father’s passing.