Cher Doesn't Hold Back While Slamming LateMaskDirector Peter Bogdanovich: 'He Was a Pig'

Mar. 15, 2025

Cher in 2024; Peter Bogdanovich in 2018.Photo:Arturo Holmes/Getty; Mike Coppola/Getty

Arturo Holmes/Getty; Mike Coppola/Getty

Throughout her illustrious career, there were two directorsCher"didn’t like.“In promotion of part one of her eponymous memoir,Cher, 78, didn’t hold back when tellingThe Timesabout working with the latePeter Bogdanovichand Frank Oz, who she referred to as “the guy fromThe Muppets.““He was an asshole,” Cher said about Bogdanovich, who died in 2022. “He was not nice to the girls in the film and he was so f—— arrogant. I really, really disliked him.“She recalled one incident on set when filming the 1985 movieMask, when the director asked for her opinion about where they should film a scene.Sam Elliott and Cher in ‘Mask’.Universal/Getty"And I say, ‘Well, the kitchen is working pretty well, why don’t we do that again?’ " Cher recalled.“The next morning he arrives on set eating an egg sandwich and starts screaming that he’s not going to let me direct this film; I’m a nobody; he can cut me out at any moment. Oh yeah, he was a pig.“In a 2019 interview withVulture, Bogdanovich had claimed that Cher was the most difficult actor he had ever worked with. She “didn’t trust anybody, especially men.” “That’s why she dropped her father’s name, Sarkisian.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“She couldn’t do whatTatum [O’Neal]did inPaper Moon,” he continued, referring to the actress who was 10 when shooting the 1973 movie. “She’d start off in the right direction, but she’d go off wrong somehow, very quickly. So I shot a lot of close-ups of her because she’s very good in close-ups.“Elsewhere in the interview withThe Times, Cher spoke about Oz, 80, who directed her in the 1990 movieMermaids.“I actually got the guy fromThe Muppetsfired,” Cher remembered. “I said, either you’re going or I’m going, which is a shame because he’s a really good director, but he had a thing about me. He would go, ‘At least my wife loves me!' “As perThe Washington Post, Oz ultimately didn’t direct the movie “because of creative differences” and Richard Benjamin took over.PEOPLE reached out to Frank Oz and did not receive an immediate response.Cher and Sam Elliott in ‘Mask’.Universal/GettyDespite the bad experiences with Bogdanovich and Oz, Cher said that she’s “really easy to work with.” “I’ve worked with Bob Altman, Mike Nichols, Norman Jewison… Really great directors whom I respect. I know when to listen.“Cher: The Memoir, Part Oneis available for purchase wherever books are sold.Cher: The Memoir, Part Two, will be released in 2025.

Throughout her illustrious career, there were two directorsCher"didn’t like.”

In promotion of part one of her eponymous memoir,Cher, 78, didn’t hold back when tellingThe Timesabout working with the latePeter Bogdanovichand Frank Oz, who she referred to as “the guy fromThe Muppets.”

“He was an asshole,” Cher said about Bogdanovich, who died in 2022. “He was not nice to the girls in the film and he was so f—— arrogant. I really, really disliked him.”

She recalled one incident on set when filming the 1985 movieMask, when the director asked for her opinion about where they should film a scene.

Sam Elliott and Cher in ‘Mask’.Universal/Getty

Universal/Getty

“And I say, ‘Well, the kitchen is working pretty well, why don’t we do that again?’ " Cher recalled.

“The next morning he arrives on set eating an egg sandwich and starts screaming that he’s not going to let me direct this film; I’m a nobody; he can cut me out at any moment. Oh yeah, he was a pig.”

In a 2019 interview withVulture, Bogdanovich had claimed that Cher was the most difficult actor he had ever worked with. She “didn’t trust anybody, especially men.” “That’s why she dropped her father’s name, Sarkisian.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“She couldn’t do whatTatum [O’Neal]did inPaper Moon,” he continued, referring to the actress who was 10 when shooting the 1973 movie. “She’d start off in the right direction, but she’d go off wrong somehow, very quickly. So I shot a lot of close-ups of her because she’s very good in close-ups.”

Elsewhere in the interview withThe Times, Cher spoke about Oz, 80, who directed her in the 1990 movieMermaids.

“I actually got the guy fromThe Muppetsfired,” Cher remembered. “I said, either you’re going or I’m going, which is a shame because he’s a really good director, but he had a thing about me. He would go, ‘At least my wife loves me!' "

As perThe Washington Post, Oz ultimately didn’t direct the movie “because of creative differences” and Richard Benjamin took over.

PEOPLE reached out to Frank Oz and did not receive an immediate response.

Cher and Sam Elliott in ‘Mask’.Universal/Getty

Despite the bad experiences with Bogdanovich and Oz, Cher said that she’s “really easy to work with.” “I’ve worked with Bob Altman, Mike Nichols, Norman Jewison… Really great directors whom I respect. I know when to listen.”

Cher: The Memoir, Part Oneis available for purchase wherever books are sold.Cher: The Memoir, Part Two, will be released in 2025.

source: people.com