Cher has recalled how Jack Nicholson and director George Miller once branded her as “too old” for Hollywood.
The Oscar-winning actress has starred in films including Moonstruck, Mermaids and, most recently, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and is widely considered to be a legend in the entertainment industry.
However, at her concert in Atlantic City on Friday (17Aug18), Cher reminisced to fans about a nasty phone call she received after her “fantastic” 40th birthday party.
“In the morning, my telephone rang and the man said, ‘Hi, Cher, it’s George Miller.’ I said, ‘Hey, George.’ He was the director of Witches of Eastwick,” the 72-year-old explained, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “So he said, ‘I just wanted to call and tell you that I don’t want you in my movie and Jack Nicholson and I think you’re too old and you’re not sexy.’ Good morning, 40!”
The Believe hitmaker burst into tears and “was heartbroken” to seemingly miss out on the role, but her upset turned to anger after George continued to insult her.
“He just wanted to tell me everything: ‘I hate the way you walk, I hate the way you talk, I don’t like the colour of your hair, I don’t like your eyes,'” she recounted. “So, finally I was like, ‘OK, look mother-,’ yeah, I said the whole thing. I said, ‘You didn’t find me under a rock. I was nominated for an Academy Award for Silkwood. And I got the Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actress for Mask. So, goodbye!'”
Cher eventually did go on to win the lead role of Alexandra Medford in 1987’s The Witches of Eastwick, appearing alongside Jack, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer.
In addition, the star also admitted she was scared to appear on Late Night with David Letterman because “he can be kind of an a**hole” to people he doesn’t like, but agreed after she was offered $28,000 (£22,000) – a sum she owed to her friend, the late Studio 54 co-owner Steve Rubell.