Cher has been on media rounds to promote her new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, and she stopped by for a live interview on the Today show recently. During the discussion, host Hoda Kotb was curious about the advice Cher got from her friend Lucille Ball in 1975, following the bitter divorce from Sonny Bono.
While responding to Hoda, Cher dropped the F-word, causing a brief stir in the studio. Sadly, she could not take it back, but Hoda did some damage control with a light joke. Cher was not all wrong as she requested beforehand that the producers bleep her answer.
What did Lucille Ball tell Cher?
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Like Cher, Lucille went through the throes of a messy divorce in the ‘60s, after leaving her ex-husband Desi Arnaz. She could relate to Cher’s plight as her former lover was also her partner in show business. She told Cher to “F-ck Bono,” reminding her that she was the talented one between them.
Cher was finally free from her loveless marriage to Bono, who allegedly took all the money they made together and left her with nothing but a car and clothes after the divorce. He took advantage of her naïveté, making her do backbreaking work while giving her crumbs and fame.
It was not love at first sight
Cher’s relationship with Bono was not always based on passionate love, as he did not even like her at first. They eventually kicked things off, and according to Cher’s account, her mother, Georgia Holt, was not happy about their union due to the 11-year age difference.
Taking Lucille’s advice, Cher focused on her career by attempting to continue television solo; however, she professionally reconnected with Sonny for The Sonny and Cher Show until 1977. Their decade-long marriage produced a son named Chaz Bono, who is now estranged from Cher.