Entertainment
Liza Minnelli ‘shaken’ after Oscars bosses ‘forced her on stage’ in wheelchair: ‘She was sabotaged’Rishma Dosani
Liza Minnelli presented an award at last month’s Oscars (Picture: Getty)
Liza Minnelli felt ‘sabotaged’ by Oscars bosses following her appearance on stage at the ceremony last month, it has been claimed.
The Cabaret star, 76, was joined by Lady Gaga to present the best picture award at the Dolby Theatre on March 27 – which eventually went to Coda.
However, according to her friend Michael Feinstein, she originally planned to sit in a director’s chair on stage and was left ‘flustered’ and ‘discombobulated’ when this changed at the last minute.
Appearing on SiriusXM, the 65-year-old claimed that he was by her side before she addressed the star-studded audience and had been vocal about not wanting viewers to ‘worry’ about her.
‘She was sabotaged. That’s a terrible word to use, but she only agreed to appear on the Oscars if she would be in the director’s chair, because she’s been having back trouble,’ he said on the Jess Cagle Show, explaining that she had experienced back pains beforehand.
‘She said, “I don’t want people to see me limping out there… You know, I want to look good. I don’t want people to worry about me.”’
Liza appeared on stage in a wheelchair (Picture: Getty)
Michael claimed that the slap drama between Will Smith and Chris Rock sparked chaos behind-the-scenes, and the plans changed ‘literally five minutes’ before Liza was due to present.
‘I guess they were all shaken up because of everything that had happened earlier, the stage manager said, “Well, she has to be in a wheelchair”,’ he continued.
‘Liza pleaded. She said, “No, I will not be seen in a wheelchair in front of everybody. I will not do this. I refuse to do this”.
‘Then they said, “Well, it’s either that or nothing.”’
She was left ‘shaken’ by the encounter backstage (Picture: AP)
Michael said that he witnessed the exchange and asked his friend what she wanted to do, and she replied that she would appear – but was left ‘shaken’ from the encounter.
‘She was so shaken that she was discombobulated. She was nervous. I mean, and it made her look like she was out of it. And she was just so shaken up,’ he added.
‘Can you imagine being suddenly forced to be seen by millions of people the way you don’t want to be seen? That’s what happened to her.’
‘She was very disappointed that that happened, and it was not what was agreed to. She is really doing well and it’s a shame that it turned out that way. She was very disappointed.’
Liza and Michael have been close friends for years (Picture: WireImage)
Liza has not spoken publicly about her appearance at the ceremony.
She was introduced to the crowd by Gaga as they handed out the final trophy of the awards.
‘Oh! That’s so exciting!’ the Oscar winner beamed as she looked out across the audience.
‘Do you see that? The public, they love you,’ Gaga said as the crowd stood in applause. ‘I am honored to present the final award of the evening with a true showbusiness legend.
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‘She’s celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cabaret. Oscar award-winning actress Liza Minnelli.’
Liza appeared to struggle with her lines at one point, as the House of Gucci actress whispered to her: ‘I got you’.
Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Liza and the Oscars for a comment.
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