Cher makes audience laugh with backhanded Jimmy Kimmel compliment

Pop icon has been promoting the first part of her new memoir

Cher surprised Jimmy Kimmel with a slightly backhanded compliment at the end of their interview after reflecting on her career and the publication of her recent memoir.

Towards the end of the conversation, the “Believe” star revealed that she has yet to begin writing the second part of her book.

“You’re a lot nicer and funnier than I thought you would be,” she then told the late-night host, prompting laughter from the audience.

Elsewhere during the candid chat, Cher explained that her professional collaborations with ex-husband Sonny Bono kept them together “because we had so much fun”.

“We were equal. That was… I mean, I loved it,” she said. “We worked so well together, and it really kept us closer longer than I really wanted.”

In her memoir, Cher recalled how she was stunned to learn that she had effectively been placed in “involuntary servitude” by her then-husband while they were in the process of getting divorced.

“I couldn’t even sign a [cheque] or withdraw any money without Sonny or [lawyer Irwin Spiegel’s] signature,” she wrote.

“I was an employee of Cher Enterprises with no ownership, so I couldn’t access any of the money I earned for the company.

“Beyond that, I was signed to the company and could only work with Sonny’s permission. That meant not only did I have no money, I had no way to make any money unless Sonny signed off on it.”

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Cher appeared on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show to talk about her memoir (ABC)

Cher said she was “more heartbroken than angry” about her situation, as she slowly realised that Bono would have left her with just her car and clothes. “It took several days for the full horror to sink in,” she continued.

“I’d worked my whole life, yet apparently I had nothing to show for it. I’d never for a second imagined that I needed to protect myself from Sonny, of all people, yet the contracts he’d had me sign were secretly designed to strip me of my income and the rights to my own career.”

On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Cher also spoke of how she had difficulty obtaining a driver’s licence that only featured her first name: “I don’t have a last name, so it just says Cher on my driver’s license,” she said.

“You have to prove that someone could know you, like the populace could know you by that name. It’s not easy.”

In a rapid-fire question segment, she disclosed that she had been dismissed from jury duty for being “too distracting… the judge kicked me out after 10 minutes”.

Cher’s memoir, Part One, debuted at No 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The second volume is scheduled for release in November 2025.