Liza Minnelli is upset about how her appearance at the 2022 Academy Awards was handled. The Hollywood legend, 78, announced her new memoir on Tuesday in a statement to People , and reiterated claims that she was “sabotaged” at the Oscars two years ago. Minnelli memorably joined Lady Gaga on stage to hand out the Best Picture award in a wheelchair, and her frail appearance and confused demeanor was a shock to many.
The “Cabaret” star told People that she never intended to write a book, but a “series of unfortunate events” — including her Oscars appearance — caused her to change her mind. Those events included “ a sabotaged appearance at the Oscars ,” “a film with twisted half-truths,” and “a recent miniseries that just didn’t get it right ..
. All made by people who didn’t know my family, and don’t really know me,” she stated. “Finally, I was mad as hell!” Minnelli added.
“Over dinner one night, I decided, it’s my own damn story ...
I’m gonna share it with you because of all the love you’ve given me.” This isn’t the first time the word “sabotaged” has been used to describe Minnelli’s appearance at the 94th Academy Awards . Her close friend Michael Feinstein, who is a collaborator on the memoir, claimed that Minnelli was “forced” to use a wheelchair minutes before hitting the stage at the Oscars, which featured the infamous slap between Will Smith and Chris Rock .
“Sabotaged. That’s a terrible word to use but she only agreed to appear on the Oscars if she was in a director’s chair, because she’s been having back trouble,” Feinstein said on Sirius XM’s “The Jess Cagle Show.” “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.’” “Then literally five minutes before she went on, when she sat in the director’s chair back there, and because I guess they were all shaken up because of everything that had happened earlier,” Feinstein said, alluding to the slap .
“The stage manager said, ‘Well, she has to be in a wheelchair.’” “She was nervous,” Feinstein explained. “And it made her look like she was out of it.
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.” While announcing her memoir, Minnelli addressed the fans who have been “concerned” about the performer’s health . “Thank you all for loving me so much .
.. being concerned about me,” she said.
“I want you to know I’m still here, still kicking a–, still loving life and still creating.” “So, until this book arrives, know that I’m laughing, safe in every way, surrounded by loved ones and excited to see what’s right around the curve of life. Kids, wait ‘til you hear this.
” The star also said she asked Feinstein for help when she decided to write the book. “We’ve been joined at the hip for 40 years. As Ambassador of the Great American Songbook and my absolute favorite collaborator.
Michael’s one of the greats, he’s razor-sharp and he tells the truth. That’s important because, as I fly towards my eighth decade of living, memories differ,” Minnelli stated. The EGOT winner is releasing her memoir in spring 2026.
According to People, the book will follow Minnelli’s rise to fame, her marriages, struggles with substance abuse , and more. Minnelli is the daughter of the late “Wizard of Oz” star Judy Garland, who dealt with extreme alcohol and drug problems . After Garland died in 1969 at just 47, Minnelli was prescribed Valium to help deal with her grief.
It led to her own abuse of prescription drugs and alcohol. Minnelli had the first of multiple trips to rehab in the ’80s. In 2000, Minnelli was admitted to the ICU at a Florida hospital with partial paralysis, slurred speech, and drooping facial muscles.
She was diagnosed with viral encephalitis. “I couldn’t walk and I couldn’t talk, and they told me I wouldn’t ..
. ever again,” she told NBC in 2004. In June, a documentary about Minnelli, “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story,” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
She was not in attendance at the premiere in New York, allegedly because of health issues. “I lived it. To sit and watch the film with you, would be a tad too much,” Minnelli said in a statement when the documentary came out.
The “Arthur” actress also said she’s “still loving, still kicking, still creating and to borrow from Sondheim, the great, baby...
’I’m Still Here.'”.
