Liza Minnelli blasts the Oscars' 'b******' after she makes 'ordered' claim

Liza Minnelli has opened up in her new memoir about her appearance at the 2022 Oscars ceremony alongside Lady Gaga, claiming she was 'ordered' to sit in a wheelchair on stage

Liza Minnelli has spoken out against the Oscars after she was allegedly "ordered" to use a wheelchair during the ceremony. The Cabaret icon, 79, made an appearance at the 2022 event alongside Lady Gaga, where the pair presented the coveted Best Picture award.

During their time on stage, Liza appeared to stumble over her words, prompting Gaga to step in and offer support, saying: "I got you."

Minnelli was seated in a wheelchair at the time, despite her expectation of being placed in a director's chair, which she believed would have given her a better sightline to the autocue and script for the prestigious moment.

In her upcoming memoir, the Oscar-winning actress has taken aim at the Academy, alleging that they compelled her to use a wheelchair. She claims this decision directly impacted her ability to read the autocue, causing her to flub her lines.

In her book, Kids, Wait Till You Hear This, Liza wrote: "I was inexplicably ordered - not even asked - to sit in a wheelchair or not appear at all."

She further stated: "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 b******t."

In the excerpt shared by Variety, Judy Garland's daughter continued: "I will not be treated this way, I said. I was heartbroken. I was much lower down than I would have been in the director's chair. Now I couldn't easily read the teleprompter above me the-mirror-icon_entertainment_music_lady-gaga.

"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? So 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. 'I got you,' she said, leaning down over me."

Liza alleges that Lady Gaga noticed her distress backstage and immediately came to her dressing room to provide comfort. Michael Feinstein, the singer and pianist who co-authored Liza's memoir, previously suggested that she had been "sabotaged".

Speaking on SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show, he explained: "She only agreed to appear at the Oscars if she would be in a director's chair, because she's been having back trouble. She said, 'I don't want people to see me limping out there.' She said, 'You know, I want to look good. I don't want people to worry about me."

Feinstein, who has worked closely with Minnelli for years, alleges she was told about the wheelchair arrangement just moments before taking the stage to present the award to Coda. The Guardian reports Feinstein describing the situation as Minnelli being "sabotaged".

In her memoir, Liza reveals how she became her mother's caregiver at just 13 years old. "A nurse, doctor, pharmacologist, and psychiatrist rolled into one," she wrote.

She adds: "I lost count of the times I called doctors to say she'd run out of pills. I'd say: 'I'm a kid! Please fill my mama's prescription!"'.

Liza was 23 when her mother passed away from an accidental overdose. The iconic actress was discovered at her London residence by her husband, Mickey Deans.