Liza Minnelli Was Apparently “Forced” Into A Wheelchair For Oscars Appearance
“Can you imagine being suddenly forced to be seen by millions of people the way you don’t want to be seen?"
A friend of Liza Minnelli has claimed the singer was “forced” into a wheelchair just minutes before her Oscars appearance.
The 76-year-old presented the Best Picture last month alongside Lady Gaga at the awards ceremony last month, in an endearing exchange where the Paparazzi singer helped out the Cabaret star as she struggled to push through the announcement.
This is like a lesson in how to facilitate older people while honouring who they are.
What a class act by @ladygaga with legend Liza Minnelli.
The conferred whispers of "I gotcha" "I know" picked up by the mikes make it especially touching.pic.twitter.com/2JOWyrTQxn— Naomi O'Leary (@NaomiOhReally) March 28, 2022
But fellow singer Michael Feinstein told The Jess Cagle Show on Tuesday that Minnelli was left feeling “very disappointed” by the public exchange, telling the host that she was “sabotaged”.
“She only agreed to appear at the Oscars if she would be in a director’s chair, because she’s been having back trouble,” said Feinstein. “She said, ‘I don’t want people to see me limping out there’. She said, ‘You know, I want to look good. I don’t want people to worry about me.”
Feinstein said that the infamous Will Smith slap beforehand frazzled stage management, who proceeded to spring on Minnelli that she’d have to be seated in a wheelchair instead — moments before going on stage.
“She was nervous, and it made her look like she was out of it,” he said. “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.”
Minnelli’s former publicist Scott Gorenstein told the New York Post on Saturday that despite some health problems over the years, and was keen to return to public life for the Oscars opportunity. “Unfortunately, Will Smith stole a little bit of that thunder,” said Gorenstein.
“But Liza earned every bit of that ovation. They were standing for her, for her mother and for her father. There was a lot of history in that moment.”