‘She was sabotaged’: Liza Minnelli was forced to appear in wheelchair against her will at Oscars, friend claims
msn.comLiza Minnelli was “sabotaged” at the Oscars after being brought on stage in a wheelchair against her wishes, her long-time collaborator has claimed.
The Cabaret star appeared on stage in a wheelchair during the March awards show to present the prize for Best Picture, alongside Lady Gaga.
While viewers were touched by the interactions between the two, Minnelli’s friend, singer Michael Feinstein, has now claimed that the 76-year-old was left “very disappointed” by the experience, which he claims was negatively impacted after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. “She was sabotaged,” Feinstein told The Jess Cagle Show on Tuesday (19 April). “That’s a terrible word to use, but she only agreed to appear on the Oscars if she would be in a director’s chair, because she’s been having back trouble. “She said, ‘I don’t want people to see me limping out there. ’ She said, ‘You know, I wanna look good.
I don’t want people to worry about me. ’”Feinstein claimed that plans had been changed “literally five minutes before she went on”, however, after “everything that had happened earlier” when Smith jumped onto the stage and struck Rock. “The stage manager said, ‘Well, she has to be in a wheelchair’ and Liza pleaded.
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