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‘Disrespectful’ tourist jumps in Elvis’s pool at Graceland
British tourists labelled ‘disrespectful’ after jumping into the pool – but they argue people are just ‘jealous’
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Your support makes all the difference.A video has gone viral showing a British tourist jumping into an out-of-bounds pool at Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley.
Tommy Purcell was visiting Elvis’ mansion Graceland in Tennessee with his wife and family, which has now become a museum and tourist attraction.
His wife, Nanny Murphy, filmed a TikTok video of her husband stepping over a small fence that said “Restricted Area: Do Not Enter.” Mr Purcell then continued to jog, already shirtless but still with his shoes on, onto the diving board and jumped into the pool.
The video, with the backing track of ‘All Shook Up’ by Elvis Presley playing, was posted on 7 July and amassed 14 million views.
Ms Murphy also posted the video on her Instagram stories without the music, and you can hear someone from his family shout “Quick Tommy quick!”
A member of staff could be seen running to the pool to try and stop Mr Purcell from jumping into Elvis’ pool.
Another video posted after, which gained 2 million views, saw Mr Murphy jumping out of the pool and over the fence. Someone off-camera says as someone says: "You’re not allowed in there! You’re not allowed to do that!"
Mr Murphy replied, "You serious?" Then you can hear his wife argue: "Elvis didn’t stop anyone!"
After this, it shows Mr Purcell and his family being escorted off the Graceland premises.
The pool, located in Elvis Presley’s Meditation Garden, is the final stop on the mansion tour and is sectioned off for tourists to look at, rather than swim in. Right next to the pool in the meditation garden, is a memorial area, where Elvis himself and his family member lay to rest.
The video sparked a huge backlash online, with many commenters saying how disrespectful the couple had been to Elvis’ home.
The videos also garnered a lot of hate comments directed towards Mr Purcell and his wife.
In a response video posted on TikTok, Ms Murphy came back at her commenters, arguing that it cannot be disrespectful to jump into a pool because “Elvis caught someone jumping in his pool once and he never stopped them. He never got them arrested, told them to stay in the pool.”
She also said that: “That’s what a pool is meant for, to jump into. That’s why we never got arrested.”
She continued: “It’s not my fault you never got the nerve and never got the chance to jump in his pool. So I feel like you are jealous."
She explains that she and her husband are self-confessed Elvis fans. In previous videos on her Instagram, they show that Ms Murphy and her family also attended the public memorial service of Elvis’ daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.
Another video also shows that jumping into the pool may have not been the first time the family has been in trouble with Graceland.
A video posted on 5 July shows the family driving up Elvis’ driveway. You can hear Ms Murphy say “driving up to Elvis’ house” and giggling. A group of security guards come across the lawn to tell the family to turn around.
In 1957, when Elvis Presley was 22, he purchased Graceland and its grounds for just over $100,000. The estate was turned into a tourist attraction in 1982, after which many fans would take on this pilgrimage to Elvis Presley’s home.
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