Liza Minnelli revealed that she was “ordered” to sit in a wheelchair to present the Best Picture category at the 2022 Academy Awards.
The 79-year-old actress made the shocking claim in an excerpt of her upcoming memoir, Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!
“I was inexplicably ordered—not even asked—to sit in a wheelchair or not appear at all,” penned Liza, who presented the award that night alongside Lady Gaga.
She further said, “I was told it was because of my age, and for safety reasons, because I might slip out of the director’s chair, which was bulls—.”
“I will not be treated this way, I said. My co-presenter insisted she would not go on stage with me unless I was in a wheelchair,” penned the Cabaret actress, adding that she was “heartbroken.”
“I was much lower down than I would have been in the director’s chair. Now I couldn’t easily read the teleprompter above me. How would you feel if you were wheeled out, against your will, to perform in front of a live audience, and unable to see clearly?” continued Liza, as per People magazine.
The Judy star added that when she “stumbled over a few words,” Lady “didn’t miss a beat to play the kindhearted hero for all the world to see.”
After presenting the trophy, the Bad Romance singer visited Liza’s dressing room and asked if she was OK.
“I looked at her and said simply, ‘I’m a big fan,’” wrote Lizza. “I learned this lesson years ago from Mama and Papa [Judy Garland and Vincente Minelli]. At a moment of high stress, you stay gracious.”