Lisa Marie's Scientology Pop

Fox News/January 22, 2003
By Roger Friedman

I broke the news a couple of weeks ago that Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of the King and Priscilla, would be releasing her first album on April 8. What would the songs be about, we wondered? Certainly a couple of them concern Elvis, according to available lyrics.

But at least one song will preach the Scientology cause that tries to stop parents from giving their children drugs like Ritalin to treat Attention Deficit Disorder. Scientology wages a constant war against psychiatry in general, hoping to attract alienated young people before they can be treated by doctors.

Presley's title track, "To Whom It May Concern," is about just this.

Presley's official web site is linked to a charity called the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, which promotes the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard. CCHR has 23 listings at guidestar.org for tax free chapters. Its main chapter, in Los Angeles, has a substantial war chest to fight against psychiatry. Fellow Scientologists Kirstie Alley and Juliette Lewis are featured in pictures with Presley at rallies protesting against psychiatry.

Two years ago, Lewis turned up on a Creative Coalition panel of celebrities discussing violence in the media and their influence on kids, but she blamed psychotropic drugs for the problems affecting children.

Both Lisa Marie and her mother, Priscilla, are longtime members of Scientology, which requires hefty annual donations from its members. One wonders how much of Elvis Presley's estate has gone to Scientology and whether his millions of fans have any idea where their money has gone. Scientology seems to be in direct conflict with Elvis Presley's own personal credo, which was "Shake, rattle and roll" with a barbiturate twist.