Priscilla Presley Defends Granddaughter Riley Keough After Lawsuit Claims She Is the Biological Mom of John Travolta’s Son
Priscilla Presley is setting the record straight about rumors swirling around her granddaughter Riley Keough. The ex-wife of Elvis Presley defended her granddaughter on Wednesday after allegations came out claiming that Keough is the biological mother of John Travolta and his late wife Kelly Preston’s 15-year-old son Benjamin Travolta.
It’s all a bit confusing, so we’ll break it down for you the best that we can. It started when Priscilla’s former business partner Brigitte Kruse claimed that Keough gave one of her eggs to Travolta and Preston for somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000 and an old Jaguar car, according to court documents by TMZ.
This allegation was part of a lawsuit, in which Kruse is suing Priscilla’s son Navarone Garcia for breach of contract (another issue entirely). Kruse claimed she obtained this information about Keough through Priscilla’s former son-in-law Michael Lockwood (the ex-husband of Priscilla’s daughter, the late Lisa Marie Presley). According to TMZ, Lockwood told Kruse that Travolta and Preston had previously used Lisa Marie’s eggs to get pregnant, although it is unknown if that resulted in a child or not. However, in 2010, the couple asked Lisa Marie’s daughter to donate an egg instead, allegedly saying they didn’t want Lisa’s “eggs with heroin.” Keough reportedly agreed and this resulted in their son, Ben.
TMZ shared a screenshot of a text exchange included with the legal documents showing someone texting Priscilla and calling Ben her “beautiful great-grandson.”
Priscilla has denied all of the claims, issuing a statement to TMZ through her lawyers Marty Singer and Wayne Harman, “After losing motion after motion in this case, and unsuccessfully seeking to have Presley’s counsel of record, Marty Singer, disqualified from representing her in this matter, Brigitte Kruse, Kevin Fialko, and their co-conspirators have demonstrated that there is no bar too low, no ethical line that they are unwilling to cross in an effort to cause further pain to Priscilla Presley and her family.”
They called the release of these documents that claim Keough donated an egg to Travolta “completely improper effort to exert undue pressure on Presley to retract her legitimate, truthful claims.” The lawyers also said, “Kruse and her co-conspirators have also sued Presley’s son, cousin, and assistant. These recent outrageous allegations have absolutely nothing to do with the claims in this case. The conduct of Kruse, Fialko, and their new lawyers (they are on their fourth set of attorneys) is shameful, and it absolutely will be addressed in court.”
Keough, for her part, has not spoken out about the allegation yet. She shares two kids with husband Ben Smith-Peterson, a daughter named Tupelo, 3, and a second child, whose name has not been disclosed, born in early 2025.
Travolta and the late Preston share kids Ella Bleu, 25, Ben, 15, and late son Jett, who died at age 16 in 2009 following a seizure.
Travolta and Priscilla have been connected over the years, with reports in the late Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir From Here to the Great Unknown, claiming that Travolta convinced Priscilla to join the Church of Scientology after he was invited by Priscilla to be a surprise guest at Lisa Marie’s 10th birthday party in 1978.
“He was having a hot moment with Welcome Back, Kotter,” Lisa Marie wrote. “He talked to her about Scientology, and a few days later, she joined. Later, Lisa Marie called the religion her “tribe,” which Lisa Marie was involved in until she left in 2013.
Before you go, check out these celebrities who froze their eggs or embryos.