{"id":489481,"date":"2026-02-21T07:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T07:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/489481\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T07:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T07:51:11","slug":"liza-minnelli-claims-she-was-forced-to-use-wheelchair-at-oscars-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/489481\/","title":{"rendered":"Liza Minnelli claims she was forced to use wheelchair at Oscars 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liza Minnelli claims she was forced to sit in a wheelchair while she presented at the 2022 Academy Awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Minnelli, now 79, took the stage that night alongside Lady Gaga as her co-presenter<\/a> to announce the winner for Best Picture. <\/p>\n

She originally planned to sit in a director\u2019s chair for the presentation, but the plans were changed at the last minute, she says in her forthcoming memoir, \u201cKids, Wait Till You Hear This!\u201d<\/p>\n

Liza Minnelli claims in her forthcoming memoir, \u201cKids, Wait Till You Hear This!\u201d she was forced to use a wheelchair while presenting with Lady Gaga at the 2022 Academy Award. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Minnelli and Gaga presented the award for Best Picture at the show. Penske Media via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI was inexplicably ordered \u2014 not even asked \u2014 to sit in a wheelchair or not appear at all. I was told it was because of my age, and for safety reasons, because I might slip out of the director\u2019s chair, which was bulls\u2014,\u201d Minnelli writes, according to an excerpt published by People<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d she adds, noting that she was \u201cheartbroken.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI was much lower down than I would have been in the director\u2019s chair. Now I couldn\u2019t 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?\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n

Minnelli appeared somewhat disoriented on stage and stumbled over her words. Gaga comforted Minnelli by telling her, \u201cI got you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minnelli originally planned to present while sitting in a director\u2019s chair, but her plans changed at the last minute. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI was inexplicably ordered \u2014 not even asked \u2014 to sit in a wheelchair or not appear at all,\u201d the actress (seen in a wheelchair on Dec. 5, 2022) writes. GC Images<\/p>\n

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While the moment left her feeling upset, the \u201cCabaret\u201d actress commended Gaga for her kind gesture after they exited the stage. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo when I stumbled over a few words, Gaga, who was at my side, didn\u2019t miss a beat to play the kindhearted hero for all the world to see. \u2018I got you,\u2019 she said, leaning down over me,\u201d Minnelli shares. <\/p>\n

After hearing of Minnelli\u2019s discomfort, the \u201cBad Romance\u201d singer made her way to Minnelli\u2019s dressing room for a visit where she asked her, \u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI looked at her and said simply, \u2018I\u2019m a big fan.\u2019 I learned this lesson years ago from Mama and Papa [Judy Garland and Vincente Minelli]. At a moment of high stress, you stay gracious,\u201d she writes. <\/p>\n

Minnelli, seen above performing \u201cIf You Really Knew Me\u201d in September 2012, commended her co-presenter for visiting her dressing room to check on her after the moment. WireImage<\/p>\n

\u201cKids Wait Till You Hear This!\u201d will be published on March 10. WireImage<\/p>\n

Minnelli continues, \u201cThe winner for best picture that year was \u2018CODA.\u2019 I loved the irony of the title for me Writing my memoir would be my coda, my truth. There\u2019s always a rainbow \u2014 if you know where to look for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in her book, the Hollywood icon discusses her many high-profile romances, her sobriety journey and her various celebrity escapades with friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids, Wait Till You Hear This!\u201d<\/a> will be published on March 10 by Grand Central Publishing. The book is currently available for preorder. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liza Minnelli claims she was forced to sit in a wheelchair while she presented at the 2022 Academy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[49,48,361,12727,362,75,14851,196684,337,18744,196752,348],"class_list":{"0":"post-489481","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-celebrity-memoirs","12":"tag-celebrity-news","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-lady-gaga","15":"tag-liza-minnelli","16":"tag-movies","17":"tag-oscars","18":"tag-oscars-2022","19":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}