Now that Riley Keough's legal battle with grandmother Priscilla Presley over Lisa Marie Presley's estate has been resolved, the actor is speaking out about the "bit of upheaval" between them for the first time.
Keough, 34, has been named the sole custodian of Elvis Presley's historic home, Graceland, and the family shares of Elvis Presley Enterprises. The resolution came after Priscilla Presley challenged Lisa Marie Presley's will, which gave Keough control of her mother's estate in the wake of Lisa Marie Presley's death in January.
Keough was asked in a new interview with Vanity Fair if things between her and her grandmother are "happy."
“Things with Grandma will be happy,” Keough said. “They’ve never not been happy.”
Priscilla Presley was accused by a friend of Lisa Marie Presley's of making a "money grab" in January by challenging Keough's sole control of Lisa Marie Presley's estate. The will was modified in 2016 to name two of her children, Riley and Benjamin Keough, as co-trustees of her estate, according to documents obtained by NBC News.
The estate and the family shares of Elvis Presley Enterprises are now reportedly worth $500 million, according to Vanity Fair. Keough is the sole heir because her brother, Benjamin, died at 27 in 2020.
Amid the legal wrangling, Presley responded in a statement in February saying she would "continue to forge a pathway forward with respect, honesty, dignity, integrity and love.”
Keough paused in the interview with Vanity Fair when asked about the current state of her relationship with Priscilla Presley.
“I’m trying to think of a way to answer it that’s not a 20-minute conversation," she said. "There was a bit of upheaval, but now everything’s going to be how it was."
Priscilla Presley, 78, married Elvis in 1967 and divorced him in 1973. She never remarried.
"She’s a beautiful woman, and she was a huge part of creating my grandfather’s legacy and Graceland," Keough said of Priscilla Presley. "It’s very important to her. He was the love of her life. Anything that would suggest otherwise in the press makes me sad because, at the end of the day, all she wants is to love and protect Graceland and the Presley family and the legacy.
"That’s her whole life. So it’s a big responsibility she has tried to take on. None of that stuff has really ever been a part of our relationship prior. She’s just been my grandma.”
Keough will reportedly pay Priscilla Presley $1 million and cover $400,000 in legal fees in return for becoming the sole trustee of Lisa Marie Presley's estate, according to Vanity Fair.
“When my mom passed, there was a lot of chaos in every aspect of our lives," Keough said. "Everything felt like the carpet had been ripped out and the floor had melted from under us. Everyone was in a bit of a panic to understand how we move forward, and it just took a minute to understand the details of the situation, because it’s complicated.
"We are a family, but there’s also a huge business side of our family," she continued. "So I think that there was clarity that needed to be had. Clarity has been had.”
The "Daisy Jones and the Six" star also addressed reports discussing whether Priscilla Presley will be buried at Graceland one day.
“I don’t know why she wouldn’t be buried at Graceland,” Keough said. “I don’t understand what the drama in the news was about. Yeah. If she wants to be, of course. Sharing Graceland with the world was her idea from the start.”
“I always had positive and beautiful memories and association with Graceland," she continued. "Now, a lot of my family’s buried there, so it’s a place of great sadness at this point in my life.”