- Liza Minnelli appeared at the 2022 Oscars
- She was in a wheelchair and struggled to read
- There are new allegations about her appearance
Was Liza Minnelli "sabotaged" at the 2022 Oscars? Her friend Michael Feinstein — who was with her at the award show — says that's the case.
Liza, 76, took the Oscars stage last month in a wheelchair and sparked concern when she struggled to read her lines. The problem, however, was apparently this: Liza didn't want to appear in a wheelchair but was "forced" to at the last minute, which caused her moment of confusion.
Liza Minnelli: Controversy at the 2022 Oscars
Liza Minnelli's friend Michael Feinstein described the situation like this to SiriusXM Stars. "She was sabotaged. That's a terrible word to use, but she only agreed to appear on the Oscars if she would be in a director's chair, 'cause she's been having back trouble."
But Feinstein says that plan changed at the last minute, and it had to do with the Will Smith-Chris Rock incident. "Literally five minutes before she went on... I guess they were all shaken up because of everything that happened earlier, the stage manager said, 'Well, she has to be in a wheelchair.'
"And Liza pleaded, she said, 'No, I will not be seen in a wheelchair in front of everybody. I will not do this, I refuse to do this.' And they said, 'Well, it's either that or nothing.'
"I was there," Feinstein added, "and I said 'What do you wanna do?' And she said, 'Ugh, I'll do it.' And she was so shaken that she was discombobulated, she was nervous. And it made her look like she was out of it."
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"It's not what was agreed to," Feinstein explained. He added that Minnelli is "really doing well" and she is "disappointed" by how the moment played out.
He put it like this: "Can you imagine being suddenly forced to be seen by millions of people the way you don't wanna be seen? That's what happened to her."
Liza Minnelli was appearing at the 2022 Oscars for the 50th anniversary of Cabaret. She and Lady Gaga presented Best Picture, which went to CODA.
Minnelli hasn't yet commented on the alleged incident herself.
