Cher's Close Friend Reveals New Details About Alleged Kidnapping Of Her Son

Legendary singer Cher's friend has shed new light on reports that she "kidnapped" her son Elijah Allman from his hotel room. In a court declaration, Elijah's wife, Marieangela King, revealed the kidnapping. 

Elijah has spent the last six months at Chateau Marmont, where staff eventually contacted Cher. They worried about his alleged smoking habit, wandering around, and passing out at the hotel. 

A close pal to music legend Cher has opened up about a recent claim that she kidnapped her son Elijah. The friend told Page Six about the story and said Cher wanted to save Elijah's life, so she hired four men to abduct him.

The kidnapping incident came to light earlier this week when Elijah's estranged wife, Marieangela King, made a court declaration for their divorce hearing. The  alleged friend said Cher acted with the "greatest and best intentions possible."

They further shared that the "Burlesque" actress was only fighting to save Elijah from his substance abuse problems: "Cher is an amazing mother; in all the years I've known her, I've only seen her be the best, most amazing, giving mother."

At the time of the kidnapping, Elijah and King had booked into a New York hotel for their wedding anniversary and tried to reconcile their relationship. According to King, four men suddenly broke into the room, carried Elijah away, and told her that his mother had sent them to take him away.

Elijah has a history of drug and alcohol abuse and a rocky, unstable lifestyle. He and King met in Germany during a trip to treat his Lyme disease and married in 2013 without Cher's blessing or approval. The couple severally went "off the grid" and even lived without electricity, but eventually split in 2021.

Elijah is Cher's only child from her marriage to musician Gregg Allman and the younger brother to her son, Chaz Bono.

The singer's alleged friend also spoke about Cher's love for her sons. They said, "Cher's kids are the important things in her heart… Undoubtedly, whatever she has done for Elijah has been with the greatest and best intentions possible. It's hard to be the child of an icon."

During their conversation with Page Six, Cher's friend noted that Elijah was not wrong. They said, "Elijah is such a lovely, lovely guy. He's got his mom's amazing sense of humor, and he's a talented musician. I'm sure he has his demons, but it's such a shame to hear all this, as he had been doing so well."

Elijah spent the last six months at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in Beverly Hills. During his time there, the musician became known amongst hotel staff for his smoking, wandering, and passing-out habits. The team eventually contacted Cher when they became highly concerned about his behavior.

Matters appeared on September 14th when staff informed Cher that Elijah was unconscious and face down outside the hotel. Two days later, police officers arrived to escort the musician out of the property and sent him to a rehab facility in Pasadena.

During a 2014 interview with Daily Mail, Elijah talked about how his marriage to King caused a deep rift with Cher and drove her to cut communication with him.

Elijah revealed Cher refused to acknowledge their engagement and marriage and never congratulated them. 

He said, at the time, "She knows that I'm married; my entire family knows I'm married. Some have congratulated me, some haven't. My father's side of the family is very happy and excited for us."

While speaking candidly about his drug abuse, Elijah noted: "My drug addiction was about an eight year thing of really heavy using. I was taking lots of drugs on the road. I was smoking dope (heroin), taking a lot of pills, any pain killer we could get and drinking."

In his wife King's court declaration, she claimed she had no idea where he was but knew he was receiving treatment.