Austin Butler’s Golden Globes Speech Honoring Lisa Marie Presley Goes Viral

All throughout the production and release of Baz Luhrmann‘s Elvis, the biopic about the king of rock and roll, there appeared to be a mutual respect between the film’s star, Austin Butler, and Elvis Presley‘s family members, including ex-wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie Presley. (Back in 2022, upon the film’s release, Priscilla stated that Butler “got Elvis to a T, I mean to a T. It is unbelievable what this kid did.”)

When Butler picked up the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy this past Tuesday, it was very clear that he felt the same kind of appreciation for the members of Elvis’s family, thanking them toward the end of his acceptance speech.

“The Presley family, thank you guys, thank you for opening your hearts, your memories, your home to me,” he said, despite the fact that the musical cue for him to wrap up his speech had already begun. “Lisa Marie, Priscilla, I love you forever,” he added, as the two women patted their hearts in gratitude.

Upon hearing the piano music playing that signaled him to wrap up his speech, Butler quipped, “You could at least play ‘Suspicious Minds’ or something.”

While his acknowledgement of the two women’s inspiration for the film was meaningful, the footage of Butler’s speech it has taken on even more importance in the wake of Lisa Marie Presley’s death on Thursday at age 54, as it also marked one of the last times Presley would be seen publicly.

That, plus the fact that Butler was being cued to wrap things up has made his tribute to Lisa Marie go viral, with some people criticizing the practice of playing winners offstage mid-speech.

Earlier that night, Lisa Marie appeared on the red carpet with Butler to describe how much Butler’s performance affected her when she first saw it, saying, “It was so incredible and so spot on and just so authentic that, yeah, I can’t even describe what it meant.”