Cyndi Lauper’s fans have defended the pop-rock singer after a clip of a recent performance went viral, as she continues on the final tour of her career.
The footage, which was shared by a user on X/Twitter, showed the Grammy-winning star, 71, singing her 1985 hit “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough” and dancing enthusiastically while wearing a metallic silver outfit.
“Wtf happened to Cyndi Lauper?” they asked.
Fans immediately jumped to the singer’s defence.
“She dropped multiple hits, made many albums, aged, and had a career that resulted in a fanbase that she’s still performing for decades later,” wrote music critic and internet personality Anthony Fantano.
“Will you be able to do the same? Does being a dumba** on Twitter see the same longevity?”
“Dude, she’s 71 years old,” another fan agreed. “I hope I’m hopping around like that at 71.”
Another chimed in: “She’s had a great career. She loves what she’s doing. Why’d you all always gotta be negative?”
“I think she looks frikkin amazing, and she sounds pretty good,” one fan wrote.
Another remarked: “It’s Cyndi Lauper, whose career and talent has earned her the right to a classier response than mere misogyny and ageism.”
Lauper rose to fame in the early Eighties, when she became the first woman in history to achieve four top-five singles from a debut album.
She went on to release a string of hit records, along with classical singles such as “Time After Time” and “True Colours”.
While she suffered sound issues at Glastonbury Festival last year, her performance at the Worthy Farm event was well-received, including in a review by The Independent’s Adam White, who wrote: “Lauper’s voice is raspier than ever, but she still manages to hit the high notes spectacularly.”
He added: “There is something almost spiritual about ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’, which may have the reputation of being a breezy hen-do standard but has a real grit and pain to it – ‘Some boys take a beautiful girl/ and hide her away from the rest of the world / I want to be the one to walk in the sun / Girls just wanna have fun.’
“It’s incredibly heartbreaking, with Lauper splitting the song in two to discuss reproductive rights and equal pay, and talk up her charitable fund Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights.”
Lauper is currently preparing to bring her farewell Girls Just Want To Have Fun tour to the UK, where she will be performing at arenas including Co-op Live in Manchester and the O2 Arena in London. The first show takes place on Saturday 8 February at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow.
