Liza Minnelli revealed she was “assigned” 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 from her upcoming memoir: Kids, wait until you hear this!
“I was inexplicably instructed (not even asked) to sit in a wheelchair or not show up at all,” wrote Liza, who presented the award that evening with Lady Gaga.
She went on to say, “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 bullshit….”
“I don’t want to be treated this way, I said. My co-host insisted she wouldn’t go on stage with me unless I was in a wheelchair,” the wrote Cabaret actress, adding that she was “heartbroken.”
“I was sitting much lower 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 were unable to see clearly?” continued Liza, according People magazine.
The Judy Star added that when Lady “stumbled over a few words,” she “didn’t miss a beat in playing the kind-hearted hero for all the world to see.”
After the trophy presentation, the Bad romance singer visited Liza’s dressing room and asked if everything was okay.
“I looked at her and simply said, ‘I’m a huge fan,’” Lizza wrote. ‘I learned this lesson years ago from mom and dad [Judy Garland and Vincente Minelli]. In a moment of great stress, you remain gracious.”
