Billy Bush Opens Up About Interviewing Lisa Marie Presley Just 48 Hours Before Her Death
Billy Bush spoke about being one of the last people to interview Lisa Marie Presley before her sudden and tragic death on Thursday at the age of 54, saying PEOPLE on Friday that, ‘It feels horrible.’
The TV host, who was interviewing Extra during the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards on Tuesday, had the chance to speak to Elvis’s daughter on the red carpet less than 48 hours before her death.
Bush, 51, expressed more emotionally to the publication that “I feel like my heart is very heavy for almost anyone who is suffering.”
‘Feels horrible’: Billy Bush, 51, told People on Friday that, ‘It feels horrible’, to have been one of the last people to interview Lisa Marie Presley before her tragic death on Thursday at the age 54 years old.
Recent Interview: The talk show host interviewed celebrities for Extra during the 80th Golden Globes, including Elvis’ only daughter.
Billy remembered that both he and Lisa Marie were, ‘just talking about their father. And what characteristics of his father that Austin Butler did get right… the singing, the looks, the look, the shine.
‘This is a woman who has just encountered so much pain in her life. She is just impossible to fathom,” she added, referring to the death of her own father at the age of 42 in 1977 and the loss of her own son, Benjamin, in 2020, whose death was ruled a suicide. . She was only 27 years old.
During the evening, she was accompanied by Jerry Schilling, an old family friend who was by her side during the brief interview, shortly before the awards show began.
Bush recently went into more detail about the interview with Lisa Marie when speaking with LA Fox, stating that both he and Jerry had “each grabbed an arm” to help her up two steps leading to the interview platform.
He added: ‘And it was clear that she didn’t go up the two floors. I went downstairs and found her on the carpet itself. You can see her hanging from Jerry’s arm…’
By Her Side: She was joined by Jerry Schilling, a longtime family friend who was close by her side, during the brief interview shortly before the awards show began.
Remembering: Bush recently went into more detail about the interview with Lisa Marie when speaking with Fox LA
‘Something’s wrong’: The Extra presenter recalled: ‘She was very unbalanced in her balance. The speech was very slow. And definitely, when the interview was over, I turned to my producer who was next to me and said, ‘Something’s wrong here’; Billy seen in December 2021 in Malibu
The additional presenter then explained: ‘She was very uneven in her balance. The speech was very slow. And definitely, when the interview was over, I turned to the producer next to me and said, ‘Something’s wrong here.’
‘She was aware. She was certainly with it, just a slow second. But she was there. She was definitely there, but just a little bit somehow,’ declared Billy.
She also expressed that after her interview, Lisa Marie rushed into The Beverly Hilton to watch the ceremony. Bush was also the last person to interview Michael Jackson before his death in 2009. Lisa Marie and Michael were married from 1994 to 1996.
Bush predicted “a wonderful night for Elvis” at the start of Tuesday night’s interview, in which Lisa Marie stood next to her old friend Schilling, who was also a talent manager who worked closely with Elvis.
Billy then asked him if he had ever met Butler, at which point he told Schilling, “I’m going to grab your arm” and locked his right arm with Schilling’s left arm.
She said she adored Butler and was “blown away” after seeing his performance in the film (which earned him a Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama win at the ceremony).
Kind Words: During the interview with Bush, Lisa Marie stated that she adored Butler and was “blown away” after seeing his performance in the film (earning him a Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama win at the ceremony)
‘She was there’: When speaking to Fox LA, Billy added: ‘She was in on it. She was certainly with it, just a slow second. But she was there. She was definitely there, but just a little somehow.
Lisa Marie said she needed five days to process [Butler’s performance] as it was so accurate and authentic.’
During the chat, Lisa Marie said she thought Butler had hit the nail on the head with the “characteristics [and] speaking without doing it in a caricatural way as has been done in the past’.
She added: “It’s done in a fun, teasing way, the way that [Elvis] spoke, but Austin really understood and did it perfectly without making it comical.’ Schilling noted that Butler “didn’t overdo” the performance aspects of him as Elvis.
Bush asked Lisa Marie if she had lived in the Montecito-Santa Barbara area, which was hit by storms and flooding earlier this week, and she said “at one point,” noting that the results of the storm they were “really terrible”. .
The interview concluded with Lisa Marie telling Bush that Butler was heading towards the entrance.
Longtime Friends: Billy then asked him if he had ever met Butler, at which point he told Schilling “I’m going to grab your arm” and locked his right arm with Schilling’s left arm.
Emotional: During the interview, Lisa Marie said she needed five days to “process [Butler’s performance] since it was so accurate and authentic’
Recognition: Austin Butler, who played Elvis in the Baz Luhrmann biopic, received the Best Actor in a Dramatic Motion Picture award on Tuesday, which both Lisa Marie and her mother, Priscilla Presley, were able to see in person.
Early Thursday, Lisa Marie was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles after going into cardiac arrest, TMZ reported.
Before being taken to a nearby hospital, both her ex-husband Danny Keough and EMTs had given her CPR, and her pulse had returned.
However, sources reported TMZ that upon arrival at the hospital, Lisa Marie was declared brain dead. The sources further added to the tabloid that her family reportedly signed a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order.
Hours later, he suffered a second cardiac arrest, and news of his sudden and shocking death broke shortly after.
Tragic loss: Sources told TMZ that upon arriving at the hospital Thursday, Lisa Marie was “declared brain dead,” adding to the tabloid that her family reportedly signed a DNR Order; Lisa Marie and Austin seen in June 2022
Back in the day: Bush was also the last person to interview Michael Jackson before his death in 2009. Lisa Marie and Michael were married from 1994 to 1996; seen in 2019 in Burbank