Priscilla Presley’s son, Navaron Garibaldi Garcia, defended his GoFundMe launch to start an “affordable organic pizza” business out of his driveway.
The musician was forced to address his critics via Instagram on Friday after several people questioned why he was aiming to raise $5,500 instead of begging his famous mother for money.
“Haters are going to hate,” he wrote in the comments of the original video. “I’m sure I’m going to have to explain this over and over again to ignorant people who think, ‘You should ask your mom,’ or who think I have money…well, I have a lot of bills and a budget.”
Garcia, 39, explained that he also donates to several causes, including homelessness.
“If I went all out every time I thought I had a great idea…I’d be broke in two days,” he continued.
“We’re not asking people to donate if they can’t afford it,” the songwriter added. “We will provide free pizza to anyone who donates.”
Garcia said the money will cover the cost of a traditional pizza oven and that he is also donating “a lot” of his own money.
“I’m just asking for help with the rest that’s over budget. That’s it. Love, peace, kindness, and pizza,” he concluded.
In the Them Guns frontman’s original video, he told viewers that “every little bit” helped him reach his goal, adding in the GoFundMe description that he would put $3,000 of his own money into the oven.
“I’ve always wanted to start my own business, but marketing and advertising always get in the way,” he writes. “We’ve already got the pizza dough and sauce. We just need to buy an oven.”
As of Sunday afternoon, Garcia had raised $2,880.
Some fans also defended the ambitious businessman, with one fan writing via social media: “Maybe he’s trying to live his life without asking mom.”
Presley, 81, has a son with screenwriter Marco Garibaldi, 71, with whom she dated from 1984 to 2006.
She was also the mother of the late Lisa Marie Presley, who passed away in January 2023 as a result of complications from a small bowel obstruction from previous bariatric surgery.
She had a daughter with the late Elvis Presley, to whom she was married from 1967 to 1973.
