Riley Keough and John Travolta have a history that predates Priscilla Presley’s 2025 legal battle.
Presley named her former business partner Brigitte Kruse in an elder abuse lawsuit in late 2024. Nearly one year later in December 2025, Kruse filed new court documents, where her legal team claimed that Travolta and his now-late wife, Kelly Preston, used Keough’s eggs to conceive their youngest child, Benjamin Travolta.
Presley, however, swiftly shut down the claims via her attorney.
Lawyer Marty Singer told Us Weekly in a statement: “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.”
Singer further stated that the “outrageous allegations have absolutely nothing to do” with the lawsuit.
Kruse’s attorney subsequently issued a statement in response.
“Brigitte Kruse and [co-defendant] Kevin Fialko are heartbroken that they have been forced to file their most recent amended complaint,” their attorney Jordan Matthews told Us. “They have been accused of horrific acts that are not supported by any evidence whatsoever. These accusations are especially painful given the enormous amount of work they performed to keep the Presley family together during an extremely difficult and divisive period of time.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Keough and Travolta’s friendship:
Riley Keough and John Travolta’s History
Riley is the eldest child of Priscilla’s daughter, the late Lisa Marie Presley, and ex-husband Danny Keough. (Lisa Marie also shared son Benjamin Keough with Danny, as well as twins Harper and Finley with Michael Lockwood. Benjamin Keough died in 2020 at the age of 27.)
Lisa Marie had initially met Travolta on her 10th birthday thanks to Priscilla’s party-planning skills.
“He was having a hot moment with Welcome Back, Kotter. He talked to her about Scientology, and a few days later, she joined,” Lisa Marie wrote in her posthumously published From Here to the Great Unknown memoir, noting the controversial group “became [her] tribe.”
Lisa Marie added, “My mom would drop me off after school at their building in Hollywood. I felt like she was dumping me there so they could handle me, and she didn’t have to.”
Lisa Marie ultimately distanced herself from the church in 2013 when Riley was in her early 20s.
Riley also cowrote From Here to the Great Unknown, which was published in October 2024, nearly one year after her mom’s death at age 54.
What Riley Keough Has Said About Scientology and Religion
“I grew up with my dad reading tarot card books and metaphysics,” Riley told Vanity Fair in October 2024 about growing up in the Church of Scientology. “He’s very spiritual. I’m very spiritual. ‘Faith’ is a loaded word for people, but I think faith is faith in anything — faith in love, humanity, the universe, whatever it is.”
She added, “I don’t go to church, but I was always able to identify that spirituality was something that I really needed in my life.”
Lisa Marie Presley Reacts to Death of John Travolta’s Son
Travolta and Preston’s eldest son, Jett, died in 2009 at age 16 after suffering a seizure. (Travolta and Preston, who died in 2020, also shared daughter Ella and son Benjamin Travolta.)
“Two of my very good friends, John and Kelly Travolta, the sweetest people in the world, have just encountered the worst possible tragedy a parent could be forced to endure, the death of their son Jett,” Lisa Marie wrote in a blog post, per Huffington Post. “My heart is crying and bleeding for them.”
Lisa Marie further slammed speculation that Scientology played a role in Jett’s death.
“It is not true that Scientologist’s ‘Don’t believe in medical care, medicine or medical doctors and that may have something to do with this terrible tragedy,’” Lisa Marie wrote. “Just like anyone else, If one is sick, they go to the doctor. If a medication will make it better, then they take it. If they don’t then they are an idiot and you can’t blame their religion.”
She added, “Whatever medical and or physical condition Jett had, I can tell you first hand that his parents were on a tireless, never-ending quest to get and provide him with the absolute best care anyone could ever ask for and need, medically, physically, emotionally, medicinally and spiritually. I am not writing this to preach my beliefs, I am here to protect my friends.”
John Travolta Mourns Lisa Marie Presley
After Lisa Marie died in January 2023, Travolta shared an emotional tribute via Instagram with a nod to Riley.
“Lisa baby girl, I’m so sorry. I’ll miss you but I know I’ll see you again,” the Grease actor wrote via Instagram. “My love and heart goes out to Riley, Priscilla, Harper and Finley.”
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