Technically, Priscilla Presley's in a legal battle with Priscilla Presley. More specifically, the widow of Elvis is being sued by Priscilla Presley Partners LLC (PPP).
Per a lawsuit reported on by Billboard and other outlets, Presley started working with auctioneer Brigitte Kruse in 2022. The following year, they co-founded PPP. Kruse took a role in monetizing Presley's name, image and likeness (NIL) rights at a time when Presley was allegedly "60 days from insolvency" and facing an unpaid tax debt of $700,000. Kruse later added a business partner named Kevin Fialko.
The Daily Beast reported that per Kruse's lawsuit, she was involved in negotiating Presley's deal with A24 for the film "Priscilla." However, she and others got cut off by Presley before the high-grossing film's Sept. 4 premiere at the Venice Film Festival. PPP has since been left out of such business dealings as Presley's Dec. 2023 involvement in the NBC special "Christmas at Graceland."
"Priscilla has been offered, and has accepted, and continues to offer and accept, additional opportunities to exploit her NIL, but has excluded PPP from the negotiations and/or approval," wrote Kathryn Saft, a lawyer for Kruse, in the complaint (as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter).
Per Billboard, Presley's legal team contests that "Kruse 'targeted' their client and that Priscilla broke away from her former partner because she had discovered serious financial wrongdoing."
"My client made significant claims against PPP and its principals ... for misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars long before this specious lawsuit was filed," said Presley's lawyer, Marty Singer (as quoted by Billboard). "We fully anticipate that my client will be vindicated and obtain a judgment against them."
The lawsuit accuses Presley of breaching her contract with PPP.
"In reliance on the agreements defendant voluntarily entered into, plaintiff has devoted substantial time and capital into increasing the value of defendant's NIL," PPP's lawyers shared (as reported by Billboard). "When defendant's NIL and earning capacity is at its highest that it has been in decades, defendant, without notice, cut off plaintiff's ability to exploit that NIL for her sole benefit."
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