Six decades into her award-winning career, Cher is demonstrating her staying power once more.
The legendary singer-actress returned to the big screen this summer after an eight-year hiatus with a small but memorable role in the all-ABBA movie musical “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.” She stayed entrenched in the 1970s for her new album, “Dancing Queen,” which features reimagined versions of ABBA hits like “Waterloo” and “The Name of the Game.”
“Dancing Queen,” which dropped last week, will undoubtedly thrill Cher’s fervent LGBTQ fan base. In a new interview with PrideSource, the 72-year-old icon said the affinity she feels for the queer community predates much of her Hollywood career.
“I always had gay friends. I actually almost got arrested at a party with my best friend at school,” she said. “He was gay but he couldn’t let anybody know, and he wanted me to go with him to a party and the party got raided. And we jumped out the bathroom window! It was high. We had to go over the bathtub into the window and jump out.”
“There’s been sometimes where I was just, you know, heartbroken about things, but it always gives you hope when there are people who think that you’re cute and worthwhile and an artist. It’s a great thing to have in your back pocket.”
- Cher on her LGBTQ fans.
Reflecting on her friendship with famed makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin, who died in 2002, she said, “He told me when he was young, he was growing up in some place in Louisiana and said how horrible it was to have to hide and be frightened, and he said he loved listening to Cher records.”
She added, “I think that’s a dead giveaway! Haha! If you want to hide being gay, do not buy Cher records!”
The Oscar and Grammy winner said she became aware of her LGBTQ audience during the run of “The Sonny and Cher Show” in 1976. In the more than 40 years since then, she said, she has treasured those loyal fans.
“There’s been sometimes where I was just, you know, heartbroken about things, but it always gives you hope when there are people who think that you’re cute and worthwhile and an artist,” she said. “It’s a great thing to have in your back pocket.”
Like her “Silkwood” and “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” co-star, Meryl Streep, Cher has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump. Though she said she’s doubtful that he will be impeached, she nonetheless already has an outfit in mind if the occasion arises.
“I think I’ll just wear a white wedding dress. And a veil,” she said.
Read the full PrideSource interview with Cher here.
