Liza Minnelli was surprised and a little hurt by Ellen DeGeneres drag joke at Oscars We were there to celebrate mama 21 March 2014 | By Greg Hernandez Photo courtesy of Coco Peru Its been nearly three weeks since the Academy Awards took place but Liza Minnelli still isnt laughing at the drag queen joke made at her expense by host Ellen DeGeneres. To tell you the truth I was surprised and then a little hurt, she said Thursday during an interview with drag legend Coco Peru. We were there to celebrate mama. Minnelli was in the audience with sister Lorna Luft and brother Joey Luft to take a bow before the start of a tribute to The Wizard of Oz which starred their mother Judy Garland. During her opening monologue, DeGeneres pointed Minnelli out in the audience and said it was ‘one of the most amazing Liza Minnelli impersonators I’ve ever seen in my life. Good job, sir!’ Peru said the joke really bothered me. You were there to celebrate your mom and it really landed flat. But Minnelli now says: I thought, Well, life goes on and thats it. As for her own Oscar win for 1972s Cabaret, Minnelli said such accolades were not on her mind while making the classic musical directed by Bob Fosse. I didnt even think about it, she said. I was always loving the project and doing the work. But on the night of the Academy Awards in 1973, she thought Diana Ross was going to win for Lady Sings the Blues. It was a wonderful time for Diana Ross, Liza remembered. She presented (an award) and then went and changed her clothes and I thought, Thats it. Minnelli also talked about the night she picked up her friend Rock Hudson to go to a dinner for Elizabeth Taylor and being shocked by his appearance. She and the rest of the world were unaware that the handsome leading man was dying of complications from AIDS. He looked dreadful, Minnelli said. He was very thin and he physically looked awful. I took him down to the party and Elizabeth said: What happened to Rock? It was a month later that Taylor called her determined to do something. She was so mad, Minnelli remembered. She was really furious. She would not put up with any crap. It was so great. Perus sold out conversation with Minnelli took place at the LA Gay & Lesbian Centers Renberg Theatre and raised $45,000 for the center.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 08:24:25 +0000
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