There are moments on live television that make you wince not because someone made a mistake, but because an institution did. What unfolded on the Grammy stage with Cher was one of those moments — uncomfortable, unnecessary, and entirely avoidable.
Cher did not embarrass herself at the Grammys. The Grammys embarrassed Cher.
At 79 years old, she is not a novelty act, not a nostalgic cameo, and certainly not someone who needs to be “managed” in real time under blinding lights. She is a singular figure in American culture — a woman who shattered expectations for decades and helped define what longevity in entertainment can look like. Which is precisely why the way she was handled on Sunday night felt so careless.
Her so-called lifetime honor arrived without ceremony. No sweeping introduction. No contextual reminder of her cultural impact. No pause to let the room absorb the weight of the moment. The award was placed in her hands quickly, almost abruptly, as though the show needed to move on before the applause settled. That alone would have been disappointing.
But it didn’t stop there.
Instead of allowing her to exit with dignity, producers inexplicably kept her onstage to present Record of the Year — a move that would rattle even a seasoned presenter, let alone someone just handed an emotional capstone to a career spanning six decades. The transition was unclear. The cues were unclear. The expectations were unclear.
Cher looked for direction and found none.
This wasn’t confusion on her part. It was confusion created for her.
When Trevor Noah encouraged her back to the microphone to announce the winner — Kendrick Lamar and SZA — the moment spiraled further. Reading from a TelePrompter that offered little helpful context, Cher stumbled over the song title “Luther,” momentarily mangling the reference to the late Luther Vandross.
The audience laughed.
That laughter should haunt the producers far more than it should Cher.
Mispronouncing a title or name on live television is hardly a crime. Award shows are infamous for technical glitches, rushed scripts, and chaotic pacing. What is criminal is putting a revered artist in a vulnerable position and then letting the fallout play out publicly while pretending it’s harmless entertainment.
To his credit, Kendrick Lamar responded with generosity, reframing the moment as a tribute rather than a misstep. But the damage was already done. The show allowed a woman who should have been protected to become a spectacle — and that’s where the real failure lies.
Honoring legends requires intention. It requires planning. It requires respect. You don’t rush them through their flowers, confuse them with unnecessary duties, and then smirk when something goes wrong. You build a moment around them. You guide them. You let them leave the stage on their own terms.
The Grammys did none of that.
Cher – If I Could Turn Back Time
If Cher ever agrees to return — and she would be justified in declining — the show owes her more than an apology. It owes her a proper tribute: clear staging, thoughtful preparation, and a moment that reflects her stature rather than testing her endurance.
Cher didn’t falter.
The Grammys did.
And the saddest part is that this didn’t have to happen at all.
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And the a-hole grammy academy will HIGHLY unlikely apologize and CERTAINLY not make it right.
The entire night was choppy. When Cher came on people stopped to watch. Waiting for a formidable presentation with accolades snd retrospection. There seemed to be no real planning of the moment. Even Trevor seemed confused. She deserves so much mire
Oh come on! I don’t know if the fault lied with Cher forgetting she was going to present, or the show didn’t tell her, but either way, it simply wasn’t that big a deal. Her speech didn’t do her any favors, especially when she pointed out that she was the first person to use autotune- like that’s really something to brag about. And she did misread the winner, that was all on her. But even despite all that, I don’t think she came off badly at all. Mistakes happen.
Did Cher come to rehearsal?
I agree, Cher has such a large stature in the world. She has garnered fame from her own fortitude talent and durability in a business that offers little to most. When they mangled her presentation with pairing it with presenting an award while getting an award, it’s no surprise the confusion hit her. She dealt with it well and her recipients of the song of the year, Kendrick Lamar was very understanding. But Grammy did not do Cher or the other recipients a kind move as they were honored the night before in a second rate type of production for legends.
CHER is an Icon and the Grammys should be ashamed of themselves. A Lifetime Grammy yet ZERO montage, zero introduction, nothing. The Grammys treated her like dirt. Cher will be 80 soon and considering her recording career began in 1963, the Grammys could have shown clips of CHER in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s…