Cher Hired Men to Kidnap Her Son From Hotel Room, Daughter-in-Law Claims

Court documents filed last year but only recently revealed claim that Cher hired men to kidnap her son, Elijah Blue Allman, from a hotel room in November 2022. The documents were filed by Elijah's estranged wife, Marie Angela King, who alleges that the men came to a hotel room they were sharing and forcibly removed Elijah. King—a professional singer who goes by the name Queeny—claims that one of the men told her that he was hired by Elijah's mother.

The filing states that Elijah was checked into a treatment facility, but King says she was told that she couldn't contact him. Read on to find out more about the alleged kidnapping, as well as Cher's relationship with her son.

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Cher was married to her second husband, Allman Brothers Band musician Gregg Allman, from 1975 to 1979. They welcomed their only child together, Elijah Blue Allman, in 1976. Cher also has a son, Chaz Bono, with her first husband, Sonny Bono.

Elijah, now 47, has spoken about having strained relationships with both of his parents. In 2014, he told the Daily Mail that he was working on his relationship with Gregg. "It's not that it's been bad, just been very absentee. I've forgiven him for that. I've seen my dad a lot more in the last year then I have in a long time," Elijah said. Gregg died three years later, in 2017.

Cher and Elijah's relationship has also been difficult. In the Daily Mail interview—which was conducted not long after he and King wed in 2013—he said that Cher hadn't congratulated them and that they had a falling out after a time during which both he and King lived with Cher.

"It's like a Mexican stand off but we have a history [of not talking]," he said. "When I first started my band [Deadsy, created in the mid-'90s] we went a long time, maybe a couple of years."

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As reported by Variety, in court documents filed on Dec. 4, 2022, King claims that Elijah was kidnapped from their New York hotel room on their anniversary, Nov. 30, 2022. This was a year after Elijah filed for divorce, and King said that they were working on their marriage. According to Variety, the documents have been revealed now amid their ongoing divorce proceedings.

"After spending these 12 days together in NY… four people came to our hotel room and removed [Elijah] from our room," King claims in the court filing. She claims that she was "told by one of the four men who took him that they were hired by [Elijah's] mother."

In the December 2022 court filing, King claims, "I am currently unaware of my husband's wellbeing or whereabouts. I am very concerned and worried about him. Since August 2022, I have been told that I am not allowed to see or speak to [Elijah] who is currently in lockdown at a treatment facility that is undisclosed to me. I am also told [Elijah] has no access to his phone."

People reported that King also claims that Cher asked King to leave her home with Elijah without her belongings when he went to a medical facility in August 2022.

"I understand his family's efforts to make sure he is well, and I want what is best for my husband," the court documents read.

King's attorney, Regina Ratner, told the Los Angeles Times that King is still concerned about Elijah's wellbeing. According to the newspaper, the document was filed in relation to possible spousal support and for King to gain access to her assets and tax documents for their divorce trial. A hearing to set a trial date is set for October.

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Reports on the court documents do not include details about the "treatment facility" that King said was "undisclosed" to her. However, Elijah has been candid about his drug use. He has also talked about undergoing treatment for Lyme disease.

"I started with drugs around the same time that we all did, around 11. I mean it's just what you did, it's just what everybody did," he told Entertainment Tonight in 2014. He said that he began with marijuana and ecstasy, but later took other drugs. "I [was] just looking to escape all the things in my past and, that's when you turn to those kind of drugs, you know heroin and opiates." ET reported that he had been sober since 2008.

Also in 2014, Elijah told the Daily Mail that he had been to rehab "several times." He said, "My drug addiction was pretty much about an eight year thing of really heavy using. I was taking lots of drugs on the road. I was smoking dope [heroin], taking a lot of pills, any painkiller we could get, and drinking."

As reported by People, during a 2004 appearance on Dr. Phil, Cher opened up about her dynamic with her son.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

"He and I have such a bizarre relationship," she said. "We've had so many strange moments. I don't really understand him. Somehow Elijah and I kind of talk through osmosis." The "Believe" singer added, "His mind is very expansive. He just dances to his own tune and doesn't really care."

A statement sent by King's record company on her behalf to Best Life reads, in part, "Insofar as none of these alarming medical incidents have occurred in the presence of Ms. King and her presumed rights as Mr. Allman's lawful wife have been largely usurped by others involved in his so-called medical care, it has made caring for Mr. Allman extremely difficult. And despite a clear pattern of being habitually bulldozed over and repeatedly undermined, a pattern that has existed throughout her 10 year marriage, Ms. King wholly rejects any inference that she is incapable of caring for her husband or making sound medical and/or financial decisions on his behalf."

Best Life has also reached out to Cher and Elijah for comment on the court filing.

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