Musician Michael Lockwood is blaming the Church of Scientology for the ongoing custody battle between him and his ex-wife, Lisa Marie Presley. In new legal documents, Lockwood even called for actress Leah Remini to take the stand during the custody trial. Lockwood and Presley have been locked in a custody battle over their 11-year-old twin daughters Harper and Finley since they broke up in 2016.
In the documents obtained by The Blast, Lockwood accused Presley of trying to “alienate” him from their daughters and accused Scientology of being behind the claims he sexually abused their daughters and coached them on accusing him of being a bad father. Lockwood claims these methods are part of Scientology’s “Fair Game” practice used against their enemies. Lockwood even included quotes from Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard about the tactics.
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According to Lockwood, Presley referred to him as an “SP,” or “Suppressive Person” in texts with her daughter, actress Riley Keough, in 2016. A “Suppressive Person” is someone “who seeks to suppress other people in their vicinity,” Scientology’s website reads. “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 Keough and Presley texted about a “plan” to deal with the break-up. He also said he was followed by private investigators during the California Department of Children and Family Services’ investigation into the abuse allegations.
Lockwood did not say if Remini has a direct relationship with the case, but he still wants her to take the stand to discuss the Church’s practices. The former King of Queens actress is the most famous celebrity to leave the church and hosted the Emmy-winning Lifetime series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. Lockwood also listed Keough as a possible witness in the custody trial, which is set to start on Aug. 3. Lockwood is seeking joint custody and child support.
In the new court documents, Lockwood also expressed concern that Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley, will suffer a relapse after her son Benjamin Keough’s death earlier this month. Benjamin took his own life on July 13 inside the Presley family home in Calabasas, California. He was 27. “With all due sympathy and respect, this creates a new and unaddressed twofold problem: the safety of the children and the greater likelihood of [Presley] to relapse into drug and alcohol dependency,” Lockwood wrote.
