Lisa Marie Presley grew up within the Church, however after her passing we’re being reminded she was truly one of the crucial ardent forces towards Scientology.
The Underground Bunker’s Tony Ortega revealed again in 2016 that the singer was preventing a struggle with the group behind the scenes, serving to tales come to mild that uncovered essentially the most despicable practices of her former religion.
Associated: Information Anchor Allegedly Fired For Saying Lisa Was Planning Scientology Takedown!
Now Ortega has launched the definitive interview with Lisa Marie with regards to her involvement with the Church. And as she says, “it’s a f**king hell of a narrative.”
The King’s Daughter
She started by explaining:
“I acquired in proper after my father died.”
Apparently Elvis Presley was an enormous goal for Scientology; they frequently despatched him books and different supplies to attempt to get him on board. However after his dying in 1977, it was his ex-wife Priscilla Presley who discovered all the books and acquired curious. She reached out to John Travolta, who acquired her in contact with the suitable individuals who acquired her proper in — her and her daughter. Lisa Marie was simply 9 years previous. And he or she says whereas her well-known mother was handled like a VIP, as a child she was handled like a hassle. She mentioned Priscilla “would dump me off at Scientology” bases:
“My mother was at all times making an attempt to determine what to do with me. I had watches on me. I assumed at one level that I needed to hitch the Sea Org simply to get out of my mother’s home.”
Whoa! For individuals who don’t know, the Sea Group is the group of super-dedicated staff who allegedly work continuous for $25/week and must signal billion-year contracts that say they’ve to return again in subsequent lives and proceed to serve. Cray.
As a teen she was taken care of by the then-captain of the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida, a girl named Debbie Cook dinner. She mentioned:
“I cherished Debbie. And what occurred to her actually wrecked me.”
Debbie was concerned in a authorized battle with the Church in 2012. They sued her for talking out to different members towards a few of chief David Miscavige’s practices — apparently she “gained,” scoring a settlement after going public with descriptions of “The Gap,” an alleged jail the place Miscavige was illegally detaining individuals. Finally Debbie informed Lisa her “entire life has been a manipulation.”
However what actually opened Lisa’s eyes occurred so much earlier. When she turned 25 years previous (this is able to have been in 1993), she certified for her inheritance from her father’s monumental property. Out of the blue Scientology was way more concerned about her. She recalled bitterly:
“At 25, after I acquired the inheritance, they began grooming me to be this one who would exit and get everybody else in.”
“Out to get” whom? Properly, they needed the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. After all they needed the King of Pop, too.
Michael Jackson
Sure, Scientology was fairly eager on Lisa Marie bringing Michael Jackson into the fold. Their controversial 1994 marriage was not staged, she maintained; she wasn’t simply there as a honeypot for the Church. However the group did attempt to use their union as a technique to get him.
MJ famously grew up a Jehovah’s Witness, however they noticed what they thought was a weak celeb they may manipulate. As a substitute, it turned out he was a drive they couldn’t management. Lisa Marie says “they realized he was getting an excessive amount of unhealthy press” and determined to surrender on making an attempt to recruit him. Surprisingly, Lisa Marie defined, Scientology didn’t push her to marry the Thriller singer within the first place, however they did strain her to go away him! She informed Ortega:
“I used to be in love with Michael, imagine it or not. I didn’t need to depart him. He was in bother and I needed to assist him. And so they made positive that I left him.”
She mentioned Miscavige himself, in addition to lawyer John P. Coale, satisfied her to file for divorce when issues weren’t going nicely between them. They informed her if MJ filed first he’d have an enormous authorized benefit. She recalled:
“One morning I acquired a name from John Coale. He mentioned, ‘Michael’s going to make a transfer. He’s going to file.’ So I filed.”
Coale denies this, saying he not solely “by no means informed her to like or unlove Mr. Jackson” but in addition that there was no authorized cause to file first as a result of there have been no youngsters or monetary stakes to struggle over.
However Lisa mentioned she thought her scenario was akin to that of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. She says of the film star couple:
“I understand how in love they had been. However they had been pushed aside.”
Huh.
Working Thetan Degree 7
When requested about how far up within the org she and her mother acquired, Lisa defined that Priscilla by no means acquired to the upper ranges:
“My mother’s not Clear. She takes programs and reads books, however she’s not concerned.”
Lisa alternatively acquired as much as Working Thetan Degree 7, the second highest auditing stage. It apparently takes a very long time, typically years to complete — nevertheless it was the wall that Lisa hit with the faith. She lastly discovered sufficient to comprehend she was out:
“I by no means completed it. I give up after three months. It was bulls**t. It was nearly management. It was only a approach of getting extra money.”
And when was it that they acquired concerned about her? Mm-hm.
Scientology Associates
Ortega requested Lisa about her relationships with a number of the extra well-known Church members. She mentioned she detested Tom Cruise from the beginning:
“I f**king hate Tom. I met him 20 years in the past. I mentioned I by no means need to be in a room with him once more.”
Properly. What about John Travolta, who first ushered her household into the Church within the first place? There aren’t any arduous emotions on that rating, she says:
“John is my final Scientology good friend. Kelly [Preston] sort of displays us. John and I get unruly if we’re collectively. John is renting my home in Hawaii proper now.”
[BTW, this interview was a few years ago, before the passing of Kelly Preston in 2020. RIP.]
She revealed she and John would have lengthy late night time conversations about what the remainder of the world was saying about Scientology, one thing which was forbidden. In keeping with her, Travolta was principally utterly oblivious to all of that:
“I informed him concerning the HBO factor. He had no concept. I informed him that Debbie Cook dinner was gone. He had no concept. He has no Web or e mail. He’s so sheltered. All he is aware of is what they inform him. He’s sensible however sheltered.”
Wow.
The place Are The Miscaviges?
Shelly Miscavige, spouse of the Chief David Miscavige, has apparently been lacking for years. And David himself has disappeared just lately as nicely. Lisa didn’t know for positive the place they had been, however she gave her finest guess. She agrees with vocal ex-Scientologist Mike Rinder that Shelly is being held towards her will at a compound within the San Bernardino Mountains. She acknowledged matter-of-factly:
“She is at that place at Arrowhead. She’s below 24/7 guard.”
She even requested David the place she was after she first disappeared so a few years in the past, and he informed her merely, “Compilations.” That meant she was performing some sort of particular mission. However he didn’t say what. And apparently it’s by no means been completed…
As for David, she mentioned the final time she noticed him was round 2011. She already had a foot out the door nevertheless it appears like this made her resolution extra clear, no pun supposed…
“Whereas I used to be starting to comprehend how f**ked up every part was, and what number of criminals there have been, I had dinner with him at Nobu 4 years in the past in London. Listening to him speak about how nice Scientology was doing was like listening to Hitler speaking about how he has chimneys and smoke popping out of in every single place. All he might speak about was Tom or buildings. A four-hour dinner.”
Geez. Lisa talked about how Leah Remini very publicly defecting in 2013 modified every part. She mentioned David principally disappeared after that, not to mention all of the child-trafficking-lawsuit subpoena evasion:
“My mother continues to be mates with [a Scientology attorney who] informed her that Dave is so paranoid now, no one sees him. No person sees him. He’s going into an underground bunker interval.”
Ortega mentions she laughed as she known as again to the title of the publication she was talking with. She was witty like that. However she wasn’t joking about him going into hiding. She reiterated:
“He’s going into that bunker part.”
That was years in the past. It’s solely now that he’s actually being appeared for that anybody on the skin realized, we guess.
Lisa’s Exit
So how did Lisa come to go away Scientology herself?
She realized she was achieved many, a few years in the past, however she left very fastidiously. She began gathering ammo in 2007, asking questions and gathering data. A number of what she discovered ended up within the Going Clear documentary. She mentioned in 2015:
“For the final eight years, I’ve been placing collectively every part that was in that particular.”
Wow! Her title wasn’t carefully related to the movie, which was made by director Alex Gibney.
She isn’t talked about within the credit or on the IMDB web page. However she was serving to from behind the scenes the entire time, getting data from David’s father Ron Miscavige and good friend (and escapee) Roanne Horwich. She mentioned:
“Whereas I used to be questioning Ron and Roanne, my mother and daughter had been nonetheless in. I needed to be actual cautious. I didn’t need to get them in bother.”
She began asking all these questions years earlier than leaving, talking to members who knew concerning the unsavory issues the group was doing AND had been keen to speak about it. And it was what she discovered from them that drove her to go away the Church. In the end it was studying about The Gap.
First revealed publicly in a Tampa Bay Instances exposé in 2009, The Gap is allegedly a set of workplaces in Int Base, or “Gold Base,” close to Hemet, California. In keeping with those that have spoken out, David Miscavige had created The Gap in 2004 as a spot to punish disobedient underlings. They’re allegedly imprisoned there and compelled to “accuse one another of disloyalty” in weird “seances.” It was when she discovered concerning the imprisonment of Church members that Lisa Marie determined:
“No approach, that’s not why I joined this.”
She had her remaining stand with the group in 2014. She took her son, Benjamin Kough (who was by no means a Scientologist) and then-husband Michael Lockwood right down to Florida to confront David Miscavige, whom she had as soon as legitimately thought-about a good friend, concerning the worst issues she’d heard:
“I used to be simply going to go there and see if it’s as unhealthy as everybody mentioned. So I went to the headquarters in Clearwater.”
Ron Miscavige known as her when he discovered, asking what she was planning.
“‘I don’t f**king know,’ I informed him. ‘I’m right here with a wand checking for bugs within the lodge room. I don’t know.’ … I simply know that I began to self-destruct as a result of this factor [Scientology] is corrupt. I wanted closure.”
Ron informed her she’d by no means be allowed in to see his son, not anymore. She recalled:
“Dave is just too f**king scared to speak to me. I’m within the stomach of the beast. It was his terrain, however I used to be clearly not afraid. He’s afraid.”
She was let into the Flag Constructing by a Sea Org officer, however David wasn’t there. There have been cameras, although. She deduced this was the closest she would get. So she picked a digital camera and mentioned her piece to it:
“I don’t know what’s improper with you. Are you throwing everybody in The Gap? You simply made the most important mistake of your life, you simply broke up your individual household. Anyone must cease you.”
She says when she was again at her lodge she acquired known as again in. The officer informed her she wasn’t allowed to be in contact with “SP,” or “suppressive particular person,” Ron. They requested her to return in and converse to David’s sisters, Denise and Lori. So she went again, as soon as once more into the room with simply cameras, she assumed streaming straight to David’s bunker. It wasn’t precisely a dialog:
“Denise begins screaming at me. I’d met her earlier than. I wouldn’t say we had been mates. She’s screaming about how Ron had beat her mom. How he would drink when he was wanting over the youngsters.”
She added:
“I couldn’t get a phrase in edgewise. I remained utterly unemotional whereas Denise was screaming every kind of loopy s**t. It was all a present for Dave. I sort of had a smile on my face the entire time.”
She finally screamed at her that it wasn’t her enterprise and to remain out of their household affairs. Lisa responded:
“‘I’m achieved, Denise. Good job.’ I attempted to be as calm as potential.”
Lisa remembered turning to the Sea Org officer:
“I appeared over at his little henchwoman. ‘That was not a two-way dialog,’ I mentioned… ‘That was purported to deal with me? If that was on YouTube, do you suppose anybody would ever stroll in right here once more?’”
Rattling! Lisa was clean!
She mentioned she went again another time, the subsequent day, making an attempt to talk to David about what had occurred the day earlier than. This time she had Lockwood and Ben along with her — security in numbers. She remembered telling the officer:
“I a minimum of want you to acknowledge the truth that was a tiny iota insane. That is the SS, Dave is Hitler. I didn’t be part of this. I would like nothing to do with this. My household can have my again.”
The officer informed her:
“It’s essential to go into confessional now and get your overts off.”
Lisa was not having that! She was achieved with Church mumbo jumbo:
“I informed her ‘F**ok you. You’re making an attempt to close me the f**ok up and also you’re not going to do it.’ She informed me that I might depart. ‘Nice, I’m leaving. And once I stroll out that door, you’re by no means seeing me once more.’ As I stood up and walked out, she mentioned she would let me know in the event that they declared me. ‘I’ll let the entire world know for those who do,’ I mentioned.”
She says every part was civil. Scientology members helped her and her household pack, however not in a threatening approach. She famous:
“However I’ve had PIs on me ever since.”
Lisa Marie Presley was the truth is declared SP. She says which means the Church instantly began making up lies to unfold about her:
“I’m a suppressive particular person, and I’m the rationale my dad died and MJ died. That’s what’s being mentioned inside Scientology.”
How on earth would she be the rationale Elvis died? She was 9!!!
She went and talked to her mom and to eldest daughter Riley Keough, who had been a part of the Church. She says she informed Priscilla:
“Mother, I do know you’re keen on doing all of your programs. However you’re going to must have my f**king again.”
Fortunately they each listened. When she left the Church in 2014, she mentioned, “They walked once I did.”
After that Lisa employed a “unhealthy ass lawyer” who was in a position to get the police report concerning the non-public investigators who had been following Ron. However she stored away from it whereas all of it surfaced. She stayed a silent associate within the struggle on Scientology. Why? She defined:
“The precise cause is, I’ve two nannies. They’re each Scientologists. My youngsters are so in love with them. And I’ve a safety govt man who works with me, and he’s a Scientologist.”
She thought her younger youngsters could be “destroyed” in the event that they misplaced their nannies. She mentioned:
“That’s the one factor holding me again. Consider me, once I need to go, I am going.”
However she was nonetheless scared about what the Church would possibly do to retaliate — or hold her quiet. She mentioned about her previous good friend Dave:
“He gave me all that details about his household after which let me stroll out? It’s a must to be joking. I’m being adopted. I don’t know what he’s going to do. He’s going to lose his s**t sooner or later.”
Requested if she thought Miscavige was petrified of her, she replied:
“He ought to be. I’ve a hell of a number of info on him.”
Chilling.
What do YOU consider Lisa Marie’s untold story of her expertise with Scientology??
[Image via Nicky Nelson/DJDM/WENN.]
