Coffee in L.A. With Riley Keough
A Raw & Uncut Interview — Originally Published in Flaunt Magazine, 2016
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The recent passing of Lisa-Marie Presley has me heartbroken for a family plagued by tragedy in just the last few years. It was in 2020 that Riley Keough’s brother, Benjamin Keough, died by his own hand. I had the pleasure in 2016 to be on assignment for Flaunt Magazine, and to sit down with Riley to talk about her latest project The Girlfriend Experience. The conversation quickly turned into a pastiche of topics, from feminism to growing up in L.A. to being famous in your 20s to whether she believes in aliens. It was criminal how much Flaunt cut and ultimately put in print. I would be remiss not to offer the entirety of our conversation, which I feel illustrates her compassion, spirit, and humility. It was an interview I conducted seven years ago, but one I think of often. My thoughts are with her and her family.
We meet initially at Joan’s On Third but it’s a madhouse, loud and busy with nowhere to sit. Throwing around some options, we walk a few doors down to a vacant café, appropriately dubbed Simplethings.
“I love this song!” Riley Keough tells me, as I strain to hear the smooth crooning of Sam Cooke playing over the PA. “That’s so weird. I’m hearing him everywhere.” This must be the place then. We sit down at a sidewalk table after ordering. Tea…
