Categories
Audio Sources - Full Text Articles

In final interview, Lisa Marie Presley’s health struggles were evident

Listen to this article

(NewsNation) — Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’ only daughter, died Thursday after being hospitalized for a medical emergency. She was 54.

Just two days before her death, Lisa Marie Presley attended the Golden Globes, where she supported Austin Butler, who played the role of her father in the “Elvis” biopic.

Billy Bush, the host of “Extra,” says he was the last person to interview Presley before she walked into the awards show. During a Thursday appearance on NewsNation, Bush said, “she was off” during the interview.

“When the interview was over, I said to my crew, ‘Something’s off.’ There’s no question that she was off. She was a little slow and not quite all there. I say that with a heavy heart,” Bush told NewsNation host Ashleigh Banfield.

Bush said Presley seemed to be a bit delayed during their conversation.

“I can tell you this. We had two steps up onto our platform, and I asked her, you know, ‘Here, let me lend you a hand to come up.’ She was on the arm of Jerry Schilling, who is an old manager of Elvis and a manager of her, too. He was a member of the Memphis Mafia and a great friend. He was holding her arm and she was very much relying on his support for balance. She spoke very slowly,” Bush said.

Still, her untimely death is shocking for Bush and many others.

“Two nights ago, it did not strike me that something like this could happen, although I did say she does not seem to be in the best place on that red carpet,” Bush said.

He continued: “I can’t believe it. I just talked to her two days ago. It’s just stunning to me how life turns on a dime.”

Bush added that her involvement with the “Elvis” movie and her bond with actor Austin Butler was a light in her life.

“Austin really did a great job of reaching out to Priscilla and Lisa Marie and forged an incredible bond in the process,” Bush said, later mentioning: “He was one of the bright lights in her life before this moment, before she passed.”

Bush noted that Lisa Marie Presley went through an unfathomable amount of pain and struggled throughout her life with experiences that must have left her scarred.

Elvis Presley died when Lisa Marie Presley was 9 years old. She found him lying face down in a bathroom at Graceland in Memphis. Lisa Marie Presley’s son, Benjamin Keough, died by suicide in 2020 at the age of 27.

“Her father, her son, this could be relief. Right now, she’s with the both of them. It could be a relief. We know the struggles and I know she loved him so much. I like to think that she’s with him right now,” Bush said.

Bush said his heart goes out to her family.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.