Lisa Marie Presley's Ex-Husband Blames Scientology For Custody War, Leah Remini Dragged Into Battle
By Mike Walters on July 25, 2020 at 12:13 PM EDT
Gettyimages | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
Lisa Marie Presley's ex-husband is blaming the Church Of Scientology and its tactics for causing major issues in their ongoing custody war, and now he is calling one of the religion's most famous defectors, Leah Remini, as a witness in the custody trial.
According to new legal documents, obtained by The Blast, Michael Lockwood claims Elvis Presley's daughter attempted to alienate him from the couple's 11-year-old twin daughters after their split-- and says her association to Scientology is partially to blame.
In the filing, Lockwood claims Presley falsely claimed he had sexually abused their children, and coached them on speaking poorly about him. He claims the practice is called 'Fair Gaming' and alleges it is a practice of the church against any of its 'perceived enemies.'
Now, he is calling actress Leah Remini -- the most famous Scientology defector -- as a witness in the case to question her on the church and its connection to this nasty custody war.
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According to the documents, Lockwood claims (LMP) "was raised as a Scientologist and continues to employ a central principle of Scientology: “Fair Game” or “Fair Gaming.” Scientologists employ this tactic against perceived enemies to punish and harass them by any means possible (Wikipedia defines “Fair Game” as private investigations, character assassination, and legal action against perceived enemies and states that it is “a core religious practice” of the church."
To make his point, Presley's ex-husband actually quotes the leader of the church, L. Ron Hubbard, in explaining his theory on the tactics he alleges were being used.
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In the docs, he also claims there are text messages between Lisa Marie Presley and her famous daughter, Riley Keough, from 2016 -- where she calls him an 'SP' or (Suppressive Person).
Scientology's website defines an 'SP' as a "person who seeks to suppress other people in their vicinity. A Suppressive Person will goof up or vilify any effort to help anybody and particularly knife with violence anything calculated to make human beings more powerful or more intelligent."
Lockwood claims in the text the two speak of a 'plan' to deal with the situation and says in the months following their split he was "followed by private investigators and surveilled" and "maligned" in the DCFS investigation into the sexual abuse allegations.
As for 'The King of Queens' star, Lisa Marie's ex says he "intends to examine Leah Remini about the Chruch of Scientology, some of the Church’s practices and beliefs, the Church’s treatment of those who oppose it or expose it, the technique of “Fair Game” or “Fair Gaming” employed by Scientologists, and the sexual abuse allegations made by (LMP) against Lockwood as communicated to Ms. Remini by (LMP.)
It's unclear what, if any, direct discussions Remini had with Lisa Marie Presley.
It should be noted, the actress created 'Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath' a television show highlighting negative issues with the church and followers who have left and are speaking out against its practices.
Also, multiple reports claim that Lisa Marie is no longer a member of the church and has spoken out about its practices.
Riley Keough is also on the list of possible witnesses for the upcoming custody trial, and Lockwood claims he will grill her on "her mom's sobriety, demands that others obtain drugs and alcohol for her, (LMP’s) drug usage with Ms. Keough, the suicide of Benjamin Keough, Scientology, and Ms. Keough’s beliefs regarding Scientology."
As we reported, the ex-couple is headed to custody trial on August 3, 2020 -- and Lisa Marie's ex-husband is asking the court to award him joint custody and child support.
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We broke the story, Micahel Lockwood filed documents in the case claiming there is a 'new and significant' concern in the couple's case after Lisa Marie's shot and killed himself in her home. shot and killed himself in her home. He claims there is now an issues with "the safety of the children" and "the greater likelihood of (LMP) to relapse into drug and alcohol dependency."
In the filing, he claims "in light of such a tragic and devastating event, it would not be surprising for (LMP) to relapse into drug or alcohol use despite her alleged three years sober. The death of a child is among life’s most traumatic events."
If the case is not settled, the trial is set to begin on August 3, 2020.
