Cher brands acclaimed 80s Hollywood director a ‘pig’ after new memoir published-Rishma Dosani and Brooke Ivey Johnson-Entertainment – Metro

Cher has called out acclaimed director Peter Bogdanovich in scathing comments (Picture: Getty)

Cher has called out an acclaimed Hollywood director, nearly four decades after they first worked together.

The Believe singer swapped the studio for the big screen many times over the years, landing starring roles in Moonstruck, the Witches of Eastwick and, of course, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

Despite delighting fans around the world with her acting skills, the 78-year-old – who just appeared on the Graham Norton Show – revealed that she didn’t quite have the best time on some of the productions.

In an interview with the Times to promote the first part of her candid memoir, she reflected on her time working on Mask, with Peter Bogdanovich – who died in 2022.

‘There are only two directors I didn’t like: Peter Bogdanovich and the guy from The Muppets,’ she told the outlet, before unpacking her time with the former on the 1985 movie. ‘He was an a**hole. He was not nice to the girls in the film and he was so f**king arrogant. I really, really disliked him.

‘He comes in and says, “Cher, where do you think we should film this scene?” And I say, well, the kitchen is working pretty well, why don’t we do that again?

Cher starred opposite Sam Elliott in Mask (Picture: Universal/Getty Images)

‘The next morning he arrives on set, eating an egg sandwich, and starts screaming that he’s not going to let me direct this film; I’m a nobody; he can cut me out at any moment. Oh yeah, he was a pig.’

‘Ask everybody: I’m really easy to work with. I’m not arbitrary in the things I say, because it’s right to do what the director wants until you need to speak up.

‘Meryl says that if the director wants you to do something you don’t like, you say: yes, yes, yes, I’ll do it that way. Then you do it your way and they don’t even notice. I’ve worked with Bob Altman, Mike Nichols, Norman Jewison… Really great directors whom I respect. I know when to listen.’

Mask hit the big screen in 1985, and focused on the brief life of Roy ‘Rocky’ Dennis, who suffered from an extremely rare genetic disorder.

The late director slammed her efforts in 2019 (Picture: Getty Images)

Cher shared the screen with Sam Elliott, Laura Dern and Eric Stoltz, and was nominated for a Golden Globe thanks to her portrayal of Rocky’s mother.

In a 2019 interview with Vulture, the late filmmaker slammed the music icon, claiming she struggled to trust people.

‘She didn’t trust anybody, especially men,’ he claimed. ‘That’s why she dropped her father’s name, Sarkisian.’

Comparing her performance to Tatum O’Neal in his 1973 hit, Paper Moon, Peter claimed: ‘She couldn’t do what Tatum did in Paper Moon.

Sam (L) raved about working with both Cher and Peter (R) (Picture: Universal)

‘She’d start off in the right direction, but she’d go off wrong somehow, very quickly. So, I shot a lot of close-ups of her because she’s very good in close-ups.’

Although Peter and Cher clearly didn’t love their experience on Mask, Sam Elliott – who played her boyfriend, Gar – didn’t have a bad word to say about working with them both.

‘I was a Cher fan when I was still living up in Portland,’ he told Entertainment Weekly in 2019. ‘My mom and I were there, and I was going to school … my mom and I used to watch The Sonny and Cher Show religiously.

‘I’ve always had a thing for female singers, for whatever reason.’

Sam Elliott would later say he loved working with Cher (Picture: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Capital Concerts Inc.)

‘I loved working with Peter,’ he added. ‘I loved coming to the set and watching Peter. I’d come in early on, and I’m still that way.

‘Peter would go in there with László Kovács, his cameraman, and he’d walk through everything he was going to do before anybody even got in there. I always liked to be back in the corner, like a mouse, watching that unfold. It was an education.

‘I loved Peter and I loved Cher. I mean, what the f**k? Cher’s Cher, you know? I mean, what’s there not to love about her. She’s one of the most outrageous people I’ve ever spent time with, and she’s wonderful to work with. It just was a glorious f**king period of time.’

The revelation about Bogdanovich comes amid Cher’s press tour for her new memoir, Cher: The Memoir.

She most recently appeared on the Graham Norton Show alongside Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Josh Brolin, and singer songwriter Jalen Ngonda. The episode, which aired Friday night, saw Cher digging into her past with late- husband Sonny Bono.

 ‘We had a strange relationship and when I learned that he and his lawyer owned everything, and I was just an employee, I said I wanted to be 50/50 partners otherwise I would walk,’ she said on the show.

‘I didn’t want to leave, but I couldn’t be under that contract – I had no money. There is no bitterness towards Sonny. I was angry with him, but I just couldn’t be mad at him. We were friends until he died.’

Cher had even more revelations to share on The Graham Norton Show (Picture: Ian West/PA Wire)

Revealing she sought advice from Lucille Ball on how to leave, she added: ‘I didn’t know what to do and leaving was a hard thing for me. Lucy was on television and part of a couple, so I went to her, and she said, ‘f*** him, you’re the one with the talent!’

Talking about her memoir, Norton asked why she has written it now, to which the singer responded: ‘I don’t know. There’s no reason for almost anything I do.’

This article was first published November 22, 2024.

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