Liza Minnelli makes surprise appearance at GLAAD Awards in chair she claims Oscars refused to let her use
Liza Minnelli makes surprise appearance at GLAAD Awards in chair she claims Oscars refused to let her use
Wesley StenzelFri, March 6, 2026 at 9:39 PM UTC
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Liza Minnelli, Michael Feinstein, and host Jonathan Bennett at the GLAAD Media Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 5, 2026Credit: Emma McIntyre/GettyKey points -
Liza Minnelli made a surprise appearance at the GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday.
The Cabaret actress sat in a director's chair on stage during her appearance at the ceremony.
Minnelli previously claimed that she had planned to sit in a director's chair at the 2022 Oscars, but that she was forced to use a wheelchair instead.
Liza Minnelli surprised audiences at the GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday — and her time on stage was notably different from her appearance at the 2022 Academy Awards.
The Cabaret actress appeared to accept the inaugural Liza Minnelli Storyteller Award. “I’m so glad to be here with you, all of you," she said at the ceremony. "You make me so proud, ‘cause you’re strong, and you stand up for what you believe in.”
Minnelli's remarks were preceded by a brief dance number set to the theme from New York, New York, the 1977 showbusiness musical-drama that she starred in alongside Robert De Niro. During the number, two rows of dancers moved in opposite directions on stage to reveal Minnelli seated in a director's chair.
Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli at the 2022 OscarsCredit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
That choice of furniture is notable since Minnelli recently claimed she had planned to sit in a director's chair at the 2022 Oscars, where she presented the award for Best Picture alongside Lady Gaga. However, the Arrested Development actress ended up using a wheelchair instead.
"I was inexplicably ordered — not even asked — to sit in a wheelchair or not appear at all," Minnelli claimed in an excerpt from her upcoming book Kids, Wait Till You Hear This that was published in PEOPLE. "I was told it was because of my age, and for safety reasons, because I might slip out of the director's chair, which was bulls---. I will not be treated this way, I said."
A representative for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the Oscars, did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment.
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In her book, which stemmed from a series of interviews and stories she told to pianist Michael Feinstein, Minnelli said that sitting in the wheelchair impacted her ability to read the teleprompter on the Oscars stage.
"I was much lower down than I would have been in the director's chair," the actress said. "Now I couldn't 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?"
Liza Minnelli in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Oct. 9, 2024Credit: John Salangsang/Shutterstock
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Minnelli said that having to use cue cards instead of the teleprompter caused her to struggle with some of her lines, which led to Gaga stepping in. "When I stumbled over a few words, Gaga, who was at my side, didn't miss a beat to play the kindhearted hero for all the world to see," Minnelli said. "'I got you,' she said, leaning down over me."
Other winners at the 37th GLAAD Media Awards included Heated Rivalry, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Palm Royale. Quinta Brunson received the organization's Vanguard Award, while Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers were honored with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award.
Kids, Wait Till You Hear This releases on March 10.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
