Cher admits she had no idea who Malcolm Turnbull was ahead of announcing full Australian tour
ENTERTAINMENT icon Cher copped a roasting after snapping a selfie with Malcolm Turnbull at Sydney Mardi Gras this year. After announcing what could be her final Australian tour, she’s revealed what really happened when she met the PM.
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CHER has revealed she didn’t know who Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was when he asked her for a selfie at Sydney Mardi Gras this year.
The music icon copped flack on Twitter after the photo circulated, fans “schooling” her on how Turnbull’s plebiscite on same-sex marriage was harmful to the LGBT community.
She promptly apologised and pleaded ignorance.
“I had no idea who he was,” Cher told the Herald Sun.
CHER ‘SO SORRY’ FOR MARDI GRAS SELFIE
“First of all, I didn’t know I was going to meet him, I had no idea what he looked like, he came up and introduced himself and said how fabulous the LGBT community are.
“How am I supposed to know? He said all the right words. Then I got such a backlash.
“I’m a stranger in a strange land. It sounds dumb to say but usually people don’t just come up to you and lie in your face! I would have thought if he had a problem with the LGBT community or same sex marriage he wouldn’t be at the Mardi Gras and so proud of being there.”
Cher’s Mardi Gras performance saw her inundated with requests to return for a full national tour — her first in Australia since her “first farewell tour” in 2003.
Cher will perform at Rod Laver Arena on October 3 and insisted it would be the last time she brings her full stage production Down Under.
The singer, who turns 72 later this month, is plotting a future involving more intimate shows that dig deeper into her catalogue. There is also a Cher stage musical in the works and she appears in the upcoming movie sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
“I’ve done it for 53 years,” she joked of touring. “Most people get a gold watch!
“I did not expect to be here at all in 2018. I did not expect to be getting more offers for jobs than I can possibly handle.
“The thing is men have been able to get away with being called ‘vital’ no matter how old they are. That’s bull----. I’m not young but I’m not dead.”
Cher’s Australian tour, also to be called Here We Go Again, will be based on her Vegas greatest hits show.
Fellow Armenian American Kim Kardashian watched Cher perform in Vegas last week.
Cher is notorious for attacking Donald Trump on Twitter and was shocked by Kardashian’s husband Kanye West’s support for the president.
CHER ON WHY SHE HATES DONALD TRUMP AND HER AGE
“If I had a husband that loved Trump I’d divorce him on the spot!” Cher said.
The Here We Go Again tour will feature classic hits from her career including Believe, If I Could Turn Back Time, The Shoop Shoop Song, The Beat Goes On, Strong Enough, I Found Someone and I Got You Babe, as well as her lavish trademark production and costume and wig changes.
Tickets go on sale May 18, with Telstra Thanks pre-sales starting this Friday.
Cher‘s full Australian tour sees her play Newcastle Entertainment Centre on September 26, Brisbane Entertainment Centre on September 28, Rod Laver Arena on October 3, Adelaide Entertainment Centre on October 9, Perth Arena on October 12 and Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on October 18.
Originally published as Cher admits she had no idea who Malcolm Turnbull was ahead of announcing full Australian tour