Cher’s dazed and confused appearance at the Grammys comes as no surprise to insiders, who fear the legendary diva has been burning the candle at both ends — leaving loved ones begging her to act her age and ease up before she collapses.
Sources believe the 79-year-old “Strong Enough” singer bit off more than she could chew when she took on her current beau, music exec Alexander “AE” Edwards, who at age 39 is young enough to be her grandson.
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“Ever since Alex came onto the scene Cher’s felt compelled to push herself into this fast-paced, jet-setting party scene, but it’s asking way too much of her to keep up with him and other kids who are well over half her age.”
“She’s getting by on fumes and it shows, not just with her garbled sentences and slurred speech but also the fact she’s out of breath and often complaining about dizziness and exhaustion. Don’t forget she’s had major health issues in years gone by. That fragility is something still there and she’s only compounding her troubles by stretching herself way too thin.”
At the Feb. 1 Grammy Awards, Cher came onstage to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award and walked off, forgetting she was supposed to present Record of the Year — and had to be called back by host Trevor Noah. She then announced the late Luther Vandross as the winner instead of Kendrick Lamar and SZA, who won for their song Luther, per Page Six. (Cher dismissed the flub as a teleprompter mix-up.)
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But that wasn’t the first alarming incident. Earlier, her Dec. 20 gig on SNL, her first appearance since 1987, exploded in embarrassment when she allegedly lip-synced her song.
“Fact is, she’s struggling to sustain live vocals the way she used to,” says an insider. “People around her worry that the years of nonstop touring, late nights and hard living have taken a toll that she simply can’t recover from.”
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She’s also strained by providing financial and emotional support for her drug-challenged 49-year-old son, Elijah Blue Allman, from her short-lived marriage to the late rocker Gregg Allman. Elijah remains locked in a contentious divorce with estranged wife Marieangela King.
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Meanwhile, “Cher boasts she’s proud to be young at heart and refuses to live the life of an old lady,” says the insider. “But she’s turning 80 in May and the fear is if she doesn’t listen to her body, she might not make it.”