The allegation that Riley Keough donated eggs to help John Travolta and Kelly Preston conceive their son emerged not from a witness on the stand, but from a high-stakes legal battle inside the Presley family orbit. In December 2025, a $50 million lawsuit against Priscilla Presley in Los Angeles County Superior Court put the claim in writing, asserting that Keough provided eggs in 2010 in exchange for a 1990s-era Jaguar and $10,000–$20,000. Keough and Priscilla Presley have publicly rejected the allegation, and no independent evidence has surfaced to support it. Yet the claim swiftly traveled beyond the courtroom, reshaping an already bitter dispute into a broader fight over reputation, family history, and the limits of what can be alleged in civil filings.
Family Feud Turned Legal Crossfire
The egg-donation story appears in an amended complaint filed by Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko, who in August 2025 sued Priscilla Presley for $50 million. They accuse her of sabotaging business ventures and exploiting the January 2023 death of her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, to tighten control over estate matters. Priscilla had previously sued Kruse and Fialko for financial elder abuse and fraud, alleging they took more than $1 million and pressured her into surrendering 80 percent of her income. The two sides have since traded claims and counterclaims, with Judge Mark Epstein confirming jurisdiction over Fialko in late 2024, ensuring the case stayed active.
Over time, the litigation has grown more volatile. In their amended filing, Kruse and Fialko added a series of highly charged assertions, including disputed accounts of Lisa Marie’s medical crisis before her death and an “incestuous” allegation involving Navarone Garcia. The egg-donation story, which touches the Travolta family, Scientology, and Lisa Marie’s addiction history, quickly became the most widely discussed element, even as its evidentiary foundation remains thin.
The Rumor’s Path Through The Presley Circle
According to the December 16, 2025 court filing, Kruse claims she heard the egg-donation story from Michael Lockwood, Lisa Marie Presley’s ex-husband. The complaint states that Travolta and Preston initially wanted Lisa Marie’s eggs but allegedly balked because they did not want “eggs with heroin on them,” a reference to Lisa Marie’s well-documented struggles with opioid dependence after the 2008 birth of her twins. The filing further alleges that Lockwood raised the topic in the context of “dog food,” suggesting it could be used as leverage, then later denied having said it.
Lockwood has publicly rejected being the origin of the claim. Asked about it in December 2025, he told the Daily Mail, “That just sounds crazy. I have not heard anything about it.” His denial undercuts the central sourcing in the lawsuit and highlights a broader credibility problem: Lockwood and Lisa Marie had their own history of contentious litigation and conflicting allegations, making any statement attributed to him subject to scrutiny. The complaint, however, still presents his supposed remarks as fact, setting up a potential clash if depositions move forward.
A Granddaughter In The Spotlight
Riley Keough’s place in the Presley family adds weight to any claim involving her. Born in May 1989, she is the eldest child of Lisa Marie Presley and musician Danny Keough and the granddaughter of Elvis Presley. She built a career in film and television with roles in Mad Max: Fury Road, American Honey, and Daisy Jones & the Six. In 2022 she became a mother, and in August 2023, she was named sole trustee of the Promenade Trust, which holds much of the Presley estate. That appointment followed a brief public dispute with Priscilla over Lisa Marie’s estate documents, a conflict that ended in a settlement and a renewed display of unity.
The lawsuit’s claims intersect awkwardly with the Travolta family’s personal history. John Travolta and Kelly Preston’s son Jett died in January 2009 at age 16 after a seizure. About 18 months later, in May 2010, Preston announced that she was pregnant at age 47, and their son Benjamin was born in November 2010. The alleged egg-donation arrangement is said to date from 2010, overlapping with the timeline of that pregnancy. The filing offers no medical records, contracts, or DNA evidence linking Keough biologically to Benjamin; it relies instead on timing, hearsay, and suggestive notes. Legal experts note that coincidences in personal and medical timelines can be compelling for a narrative yet remain legally insignificant without corroboration.
Claims, Evidence, And Scientology
The amended complaint includes a handwritten note, reportedly written on hotel stationery, containing phrases such as “Kelly Preston carried baby,” “medical bills paid,” and “old Jaguar 1990s-ish.” The filing also cites messages describing Benjamin as Priscilla Presley’s “beautiful great-grandson” and asserts that the arrangement needed a Scientology “sign off,” with Priscilla allegedly involved. Priscilla, Travolta, and Preston have all been associated with the Church of Scientology in the past, while Lisa Marie’s relationship with the church was more complicated.
In California courts, handwritten notes can become evidence but are subject to strict challenges over authentication, chain of custody, and context. Kruse and Fialko’s filing does not clearly explain the origin of the note, who wrote it, or how it was preserved. Priscilla’s legal team has not validated it. Without supporting medical or contractual documentation—common in legitimate egg-donation processes that typically involve screening, formal agreements, and clinic records—the note’s phrases remain ambiguous. Observers have pointed out that the language could fit many scenarios unrelated to Keough.
The lawsuit also references compensation figures of $10,000–$20,000 plus the Jaguar for the alleged donation. Those amounts roughly align with typical U.S. egg-donor payments, which often range from $10,000–$50,000 per cycle, depending on the arrangement. Yet parity with industry norms does not establish that a specific arrangement occurred. No clinic, contract, or financial documentation has been produced in the filings to verify any such transaction.
Public Denials And The Road Ahead
The day after the amended complaint was filed, Priscilla Presley’s attorneys Marty Singer and Wayne Harman condemned the new allegations in a statement to TMZ. They argued that Kruse and Fialko had “demonstrated that there is no bar too low, no ethical line that they are unwilling to cross,” and characterized the egg-donation claim as irrelevant and “shameful,” promising to address it in court. Their response signaled an aggressive effort not only to defeat the lawsuit but also to challenge the propriety of introducing such allegations into the record.
Riley Keough and Priscilla responded together with a joint statement rejecting the claims as “not only untrue but also deeply hurtful.” They emphasized that their family remained “united in love and respect” and stated that their priority is honoring Lisa Marie’s memory and protecting Elvis Presley’s legacy “with dignity,” while refusing to let “outside voices” divide them. The shared message contrasted with their previous legal disagreement over estate matters and suggested a common interest in limiting the fallout from the new accusations.
As of early 2026, the case remained in its preliminary stages, with discovery underway. Priscilla’s lawyers were expected to seek to strike the egg-donation allegations from the complaint and possibly request sanctions on the grounds that the claims are frivolous or improperly inflammatory. If those efforts fail, sworn depositions of Lockwood, Kruse, and Fialko could test the story more directly, including the provenance of the handwritten note and any communications about Travolta or Preston. The parties could also reach a settlement before trial, a common outcome when reputational risk grows. Regardless of the legal path, the filing has already had a lasting impact, raising ongoing questions about how far litigants can go when personal history, celebrity, and family legacy collide in open court.
Sources:
Los Angeles County Superior Court Amended Complaint, Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko v. Navarone Garcia, Los Angeles County Superior Court, December 16, 2025
“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.” TMZ, December 17, 2025
California Evidence Code § 1200, California Legislature, current through 2025