‘He loved being around Blacks’: Elvis Presley’s ex-wife Priscilla insists singer ‘wasn’t racist’-Cydney Yeates-Entertainment – Metro

Elvis Presley was not racist, his former flame Priscilla Presley has implored.

The 77-year-old businesswoman and ex-wife of the Blue Suede Shoes singer insisted that he was ‘not prejudiced in any way’ during an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Tuesday night.

‘He was not a racist,’ Priscilla began. ‘He’s never been a racist. Elvis had friends, Black friends, friends from all over. He loved their music.

‘He loved their style. He loved being around, you know, black musicians. I mean, Fats Domino, when he was in Vegas, he was in the lounge playing and he would always, we would always, go and hang out with him.

‘Sammy Davis Jr, the same thing, he would always come into the dressing room.  He loved, loved being around blacks and being around anyone actually.’

Priscilla added: ‘He was just not prejudiced in any way. And not racist in any way.

Rock and roll musician Elvis Presley died in 1977 (Picture: Getty)

Presley sits cheek to cheek with his bride Priscilla following their wedding on May 1, 1967 (Picture: Bettmann Archive)

‘You know, this is a very frightening time… it’s almost like, you know, we’re looking for something from everyone that we can somehow dispose them in some way. And that’s why it’s so frightening, right now.’

Priscilla’s appearance on the programme after the release of Baz Luhrmann’s eagerly anticipated Elvis biopic, which arrived in June.

The film, starring Austin Butler in the titular role, received critical acclaim since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, with Butler being praised for tour de force performance as the late legend.

Elvis ‘was just not prejudiced in any way’ (Picture: Getty Archives)

Always On My Mind singer Elvis died suddenly aged 47 in 1977 from heart disease.

During his life and following his death, some accused him of racism as his musical and visual performance idiom owed much to African-American sources and achieved the cultural acknowledgement and commercial success largely denied his Black peers.

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From the beginning of his national fame, however, he expressed respect for Black performers and their music, and disregard for the norms of segregation and racial prejudice then prevalent in the South. 

Piers Morgan Uncensored airs at 8pm on Monday to Thursday on TalkTV.

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