If I could turn back time, I would no doubt go to the moment I was sat on Cher‘s couch (!!!) in Malibu, chatting to her about her new Uber Eats ad.
The global food delivery juggernaut has really outdone itself with its new campaign, having secured the pop icon to appear in an ad that’s as kooky as it is clever.
Peep the ad below:
I travelled to LA as a guest of Uber Eats to not only watch the scene be filmed, but also to actually visit Cher’s house for an interview.
During my chat with Cher, we discussed everything from her viral “I am a rich man” quote to her favourite memories of Australia to her love of the Aussie drag scene.
I imagine you’d get so many offers coming your way, what are your parameters when selecting projects?
Because the deck that they sent me was amazing. It wasn’t it like anything I could have ever imagined. It was genius!
And I thought, ‘how is Australia getting to do this? Like, why did they decide to do something so cool?’
Yeah, 100 per cent! Uber Eats ads have always been so iconic. This one obviously stars yourself plus the recent ad with Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander, but also did you see the one they did with Paris Hilton, a few of the Kardashians, Tom Felton from Harry Potter, Nicola Coughlan from Bridgerton. They all tie together really well — they’re so fun and cinematic.
I did! They’re all so amazing. Also the people [on-set] were so amazing. The chick and the tall guy were so great on the shoot.
Cher travels back to the 1600s using a bungled time machine. (Credit: Uber Eats)
Oh yeah I could see that you had a great synergy with them and the ad is just out of this world! I cannot wait for people to see it.
We love you in Australia, which you probably felt when you visited. What do you remember of your time Down Under?
I remember the [Mardi Gras] parade, and I remember the first time we went, it was so fun! I remember running down the street, the dancers, all of us, and for some reason we were running down the street instead of walking, we were just having so much fun. And then I remember going into a store in a quiet area and there were two designers there and I don’t remember where, but they were really great. I remember there names… it was so long ago, we were wearing legwarmers.
And then I remember going to a drag club, and there was a girl there, beautiful, beautiful woman. And I don’t know if she was in drag or what, but she was so beautiful that I wanted to go backstage. She was dressed in a beautiful, tasteful, strapless black gown with a train. And I don’t remember what she lip synced to, but I had never seen drag queens like that before. I come from such a long time ago with gay people.
On a personal note, I really want to thank you for everything you’ve done for the LGBTQIA+ community. It really means the world to all of us. I’m tearing up just thinking about it, but you’ve always stood up for us and I really appreicate it.
Thank you! You know why? Because we’re both outsiders. That’s what I’ve always felt we like. I met my first gay person when I was like nine years old, and I thought, ‘where have they been hiding these people?’ I’ve just always had this thing, you know.
And also, what I really have respected and learned to treasure more than anything else, is I’ve had ups and downs in my careers, and gay people never left me. Gay men especially have never left me, so that was something that I felt like it’s something, yeah, it’s a thing.
There’s such an intrinsic link between a fabulous woman and a gay man. That best friend energy is everything. Do you have gay mates?
Oh, I have lots of gay friends!
Speaking of being such an icon, I feel like the word ‘icon’ is thrown around a lot these days but you are a TRUE icon. Does it bother you when that title is award to people who haven’t quite earned it yet?
I can tell you really honestly, you and me, I don’t feel like it, and I don’t know what it is like, I really don’t. I’m trying to think, I mean, there are famous stars, yeah? And I’m trying to think like, I don’t know, we’re all famous, yeah, we’re all popular. People love us, yeah? But the icon thing is a mystery.
I think it’s just been used so much that it’s lost all meaning.
I think so too, yeah. Like Maria Callas, I think: diva!
But the icon thing, they’re throwing it around for me a lot, and I just think maybe people say that if you’ve survived and you’re old.
To me, being an icon means standing the test of time and remaining relevant and impact throughout multiple generations.
Yes, absolutely! Like Bette Davis.
For sure! The way you’ve been able to reinvent yourself so many times is truly remarkable.
Reinvention is out of desperation, I think. It was for me. When I failed at something, which I did, I had two choices: give up the only thing I knew, or go in a different way to get it. And it wasn’t like a plan, it was like I just didn’t stop. And then eventually I ran into something. And then I would get to be taboo and poison again, because when you go up, there’s only down.
It’s kind of like the Wheel of Fortune. In tarot, they say that you only stay on top of the world for a certain amount of time, then the pendulum swings and you wind up at the bottom, but eventually you’ll be back on top.
Right, yeah. Well I just hope that I die on an upswing! [laughs]
For sure! I mean, you’re living in this fabulous house and living this fabulous life like you life, I’m sure you absolutely will go out on top.
So back to the icon convo, I’m sure you’ve noticed a bunch of your profound quotes from back in the day have resurfaced and gone viral, like “I am a rich man”. How did it feel seeing that go viral?
I was kind of shocked because I had forgotten about it and it really was so funny because it came because my mum was bothering me. I loved my mum but she was crazy, but that was also a good part of her. In my mum’s generation, women looked for men to take care of them, and they thought that a man’s wealth should be kind of commensurate with their beauty.
So anyway, I had an idea for a movie and I was just going, ‘I don’t know if I can get anybody to finance it’. And she said, ‘You know, you should marry a rich man’. And I went, ‘mum, I am a rich man’. I don’t know where it came from, but it just came out.
Well it stuck and it’s still resonating with women today!
But women should think that. Because it’s strange, if you go back in history to not so long ago, women couldn’t have bank accounts or buy a house without a co-signer in, like, the ’60s.
In the scheme of things it wasn’t that long ago!
No, it wasn’t.
It’s not like-
Where are you from in Australia?
Sydney!
But you don’t have the accent? You have a less strong accent. You have more of a Melbourne kind of accent.
… maybe because I’m gay? It shields it a bit?
[laughs hysterically] Not so much, not so much.
I love that you know the nuances of Australia, by the way. That’s amazing. I wouldn’t be able to pick a Melbourne vs Sydney accent.
I was really paying attention. The first time I was there, I having kind of a downtime, so I got a chance to hang out and people weren’t like, ‘Oh, Cher! Cher! Cher!’ But the first time people really, really liked me, the critics really liked me, the second time, not so much. We played on the speedway, it was a daytime show. I don’t know if it was a speedway or a fair, something like that. They said something about, it was my lewd show or my something show, because one of my dancers was doing something that I’m sure every gay guy in the audience thought was so great. The people were nice, the critics weren’t as welcoming, but who cares about that? And then all the other times I’ve been there, it’s just been good.
And final question, “I am a rich man” is such amazing advice, what’s another piece of advice that you’d love the younger generation to know?
It’s another thing my mum taught me. This one time I was, like, really, really, really upset, and my mum said, ‘Cher, if it doesn’t matter in five years, it doesn’t matter’. And I have lived by that my entire life. But I have to remember it, because I’m kind of ready to get too emotional about stuff, or if someone asks me for a piece of advice, it’s always the one I give, because I think it’s always the one that stops you in your tracks and makes you go, ‘okay, wait a minute. If it doesn’t matter, in five years, it doesn’t matter’.
That’s really great advice!
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