Elvis Presley’s ex-wife, Priscilla, has shut down decades-long claims that the late King of Rock and Roll was racist and allegedly took issues with people of color. The 77-year-old, who was married to Elvis from 1967 to 1973, vehemently denied the narrative in an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored, stressing that her former partner “loved being around blacks.”
Last year, music producer Quincy Jones had told The Hollywood Reporter how he refused to work with Elvis because the musician was a “racist motherf*****“ but apparently had no problem being coached by Otis Blackwell — a former Black singer-songwriter — how to sing. Priscilla, who has been on a promotional campaign in support of the self-titled biopic, “Elvis,” felt inclined to address the topic given that the movie features scenes showing the “My Way” singer being deeply affected by the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, which would contradict longstanding rumors that he didn’t like Black people.
Austin Butler deserves an Oscar for his performance as Elvis Presley pic.twitter.com/iA7t3FvYiE
— cla saw Elvis x9 (@shannarabutler) July 17, 2022
RELATED: Quincy Jones Loses $6.9M In Michael Jackson Royalty Suit After Appeal
“He was not a racist. He had never been a racist. He had friends, black friends, friends from all over,” Priscilla stressed. “He loved their music, he loved their style. He loved being around black musicians. “He loved, loved being around blacks. He loved being around anyone, actually.”
Piers then quizzed the New York native whether she thought that Elvis’ legacy would survive “this weird cancel culture” which most celebrities have had to endure, particularly those who have passed away and can’t defend themselves when accusations are made against their character.
Priscilla said that while she thinks about that often, continuing that Elvis probably wouldn’t be able to come to terms with the state of the country, let alone this planet. “Us as a country, it’s truly baffling,” she responded in response to how her ex would have dealt with cancel culture matters.
Meanwhile, in his interview with The Hollywood Reporter last year, Quincy had drawn comparisons between Elvin and Michael Jackson while recalling how MJ would impersonate the “Jailhouse Rock” hitmaker on set.
“He was not a racist. He had never been a racist. He had friends, Black friends, friends from all over.” Priscilla Presley has addressed some of the alleged history of ex-husband Elvis Presley that was arguably left out of summer blockbuster #Elvis: https://t.co/vhXrYHtT8x pic.twitter.com/t05mkGpLTk
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) July 21, 2022
RELATED: Quincy Jones Refused To Work With Elvis Presley, Alleging He Was A ‘Racist Motherf**ker’
Quincy himself endured a lot of racism in the music industry at the time, further recounting how he was often discriminated against because of his skin color in the early years of his career. “They called me to do Gregory Peck’s Mirage [in 1965] and I came out here [Hollywood],” he said. “I was dressed in my favourite suit, and the producer came out to meet me at Universal.
“He stopped in his tracks – total shock – and he went back and told [music supervisor] Joe Gershenson, “You didn’t tell me Quincy Jones was a Negro.’ They didn’t use Black composers in films.”