After 20 Months, Lisa Presley Files for Divorce From Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson, the self-proclaimed “king of pop,” lost his queen Thursday when Lisa Marie Presley filed divorce papers in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Citing irreconcilable differences, the daughter of rock legend Elvis Presley asked that the couple’s 20-month marriage be ended.

Court papers provided no insight into what went wrong with one of the most publicized and mysterious celebrity unions of recent years, saying only that the couple separated Dec. 10. At the time, Jackson was recuperating in a New York hospital after collapsing due to a viral infection while rehearsing for an HBO concert special that was later postponed.

Ever since Jackson, now 37, and Presley, 27, were married May 26, 1994, in the Dominican Republic, the union was questioned by suspicious minds.

Some observers wondered if the pairing wasn’t a stunt aimed at boosting Jackson’s sagging record sales or, perhaps, a way for Presley--the sole inheritor of her father’s estate--to launch her own music career.

There was also speculation that the marriage was an attempt to divert public attention from child molestation allegations against Jackson. Those 1993 accusations led to a multimillion-dollar out-of-court settlement between the singer and his 13-year-old male accuser. No criminal charges were ever filed in the case.

A source close to the couple denied that the marriage was a stunt. “She really was committed to the relationship,” the source said, but problems in the relationship became known within the couple’s inner circle “a few month’s ago” and it was apparent by early December that the marriage wasn’t going to last.

Presley broke the news in a noon phone call Thursday to her Los Angeles publicist, Paul Bloch, who issued a brief statement that he declined to elaborate upon. Jackson’s Los Angeles publicist, Lee Solters, confirmed the separation a few hours later, saying in a statement that the couple had “mutually agreed to go their separate ways. However, they remain good friends.”

Presley was believed to be at her home near Los Angeles on Thursday, while Jackson was reportedly in New York.

It was the second marriage for Presley and the first for Jackson. Presley’s first marriage, to musician Danny Keough, ended in divorce after six years. They have two children.

The Jackson-Presley marriage started curiously with a private wedding ceremony in the tiny town of La Vega in the Dominican Republic. Representatives for the couple at first denied tabloid reports of the wedding before acknowledging it almost three months later.

“I am very much in love with Michael,” Presley announced in a statement issued 11 weeks after the wedding. The couple made light of the naysayers in a September 1994 appearance on the MTV Music Video Awards ceremonies in New York.

“Just think, nobody thought this would last,” said Jackson, joining Presley in a lingering kiss.

Last year, the couple gave a prime-time joint interview to ABC’s Diane Sawyer, in which they said they were deeply in love and trying to have a child.

“Do we have sex?” Presley asked during the interview. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Asked if the marriage was a publicity stunt, Jackson replied: “Like we’re faking this?”

The impending divorce comes at a time when Jackson’s career is at a low ebb.

Domestic sales of his latest album, “HIStory: Past, Present and Future Book I,” have been disappointing. Through the end of 1995, U.S. sales were fewer than 2 million copies, according to SoundScan--far below expectations when the album was released amid a $30-million publicity blitz last summer. Jackson did receive good news this month when he was nominated for four Grammy awards, including best album.

Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn contributed to this story.