Riley Keough Told Priscilla Presley ‘I Protected You’ from Lisa Marie’s Lawsuit Plans

Riley Keough’s emotional letter to her grandmother Priscilla Presley has been made public in an amended lawsuit submitted this week in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by PEOPLE.

The filing, brought by Presley’s former business partners Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko, accuses Presley, 80, of fraud in the inducement, breach of contract, conversion, misappropriation of name and likeness, and intentional interference with contract and prospective economic advantage. It includes dozens of exhibits, including a personal message Keough, 36, allegedly sent to her grandmother after Lisa Marie Presley’s death in January 2023.

“Unfortunately Nona as you are taking me to court I am being forced to defend my mother’s wishes legally and publicly which would not have been my choice,” Keough wrote, according to the filing. “It is really hurtful that after years of me trying to resolve your and my mother’s broken relationship and restore our family, you are taking me, of all people, to court.”

The letter also describes Lisa Marie’s intent to pursue legal action against her mother before her death.

“I have protected you from lawsuits from my mother, often advocating for you and always tried to keep everyone operating out of love,” the letter reads. “Even a few weeks before my mother passed she wanted to sue you again and you called me for help. I advised her so strongly against it, which resulted in a fight between me and her. But as you know she chose to listen to me and not sue you,.”

Meanwhile, the lawsuit filed against Presley alleges that the actress “ignored” her granddaughter Riley’s “pleas, manipulating her with claims that she ‘loved’ her and they ‘needed to be a family.’”

In Keough’s letter to Presley, she criticized how quickly the battle over Lisa Marie’s estate erupted following her sudden death at age 54.

“I found being called about the will, less than 24 hours after my mother passed and getting emails from lawyers before my mother was even buried, incredibly heartbreaking,” Keough told her grandmother.

The message, labeled Exhibit 36, is presented as evidence that Lisa Marie was preparing litigation against Priscilla shortly before her death, and that Keough personally intervened to prevent it.

Kruse and Fialko also allege in the amended complaint that they “sprang into action to prevent Priscilla’s financial ruin and public embarrassment.” The filing further describes Priscilla as a “calculated sociopath and master of deception, who has lived off of and exploited the ‘Presley’ name for her own personal gain.”

In response to the lawsuit, Priscilla’s lawyer, Marty Singer, calls it “despicable.”

“Priscilla did not have anything to do with the assassination of JFK, she did not cover up Area 51, she did not fake the moon landing, and she is not secretly keeping Bigfoot locked in a cabin in Canada,” Singer tells PEOPLE in a statement.

“Take off the aluminum foil hat and face reality,” he adds. “This lawsuit concerns Ms. Presley’s claims against Ms. Kruse (and her co-conspirators) in which she alleges that Ms. Kruse engaged in a relentless and calculated campaign of elder abuse and fraud in order to take control of Ms. Presley’s finances for her own benefit. Ms. Kruse’s allegations are absurd and despicable, but unfortunately, are not surprising. Ms. Presley looks forward to holding Ms. Kruse and her co-conspirators liable for their wrongful acts.” 

In response, attorney Jordan Matthews of Holtz Matthews LLP, who represents Kruse and Fialko, said in a statement: “Apparently, Ms. Presley’s defense is to list off nonsense hyperbolic statements that have no substance. The documents are in black and white and speak volumes. To date, Ms. Presley has presented zero evidence in support of her salacious claims, and we intend to hold her accountable for her reckless behavior.”