Liza Minnelli was all glammed up for a night out with friends in the first sighting of the revered star since her controversial appearance at this year’s Oscars.
DailyMail.com spotted the legendary entertainer Saturday looking glamorous in a black sequined jacket, red scarf, black pants and leather shoes.
Liza, the daughter of Hollywood great Judy Garland, was escorted in a wheelchair. Two friends were seen helping the actress get into a black SUV.
This is the first time Liza has been seen out in public since appearing on the Oscars stage in March to present the Best Picture award alongside Lady Gaga.
Liza’s close friend, musician Michael Feinstein, claimed she was meant to sit on stage in a director’s chair, but instead was ‘forced’ to appear in a wheelchair, which left her flustered and ‘discombobulated.’
Liza Minnelli stepped out for a night with friends in Los Angeles Saturday
DailyMail.com spotted the legendary entertainer Saturday looking glamorous in a black sequined jacket, red scarf, black pants and leather shoes
This is Liza’s first time being seen in public since she made an appearance at the Oscars in March with Lady Gaga
Two friends helped the Hollywood great get into a black SUV for their night out
Liza, the daughter of Hollywood great Judy Garland, was escorted in a wheelchair
A Louis Vuitton purse can be seen hanging from Liza Minnelli’s wheelchair
Feinstein, 65, appeared on SirusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show in April and claimed that Liza had been ‘sabotaged’ by Oscars organizers at the last minute.
Feinstein, an acclaimed jazz singer, said he was in attendance at the Oscar with Liza. He claimed that she wanted to do her presentation sitting down due to back pain issues.
‘You know, that whole thing was, she was sabotaged. That’s the terrible word to use, but she only agreed to appear at the Oscars if she would be in the director’s chair, because she’s been having back trouble,’ he explained.
He said the Cabaret star wanted to look as strong as possible in front of the televised audience.
‘She said, “I don’t want people to see me limping out there,”‘ he recounted. ‘She said, “You know, I wanna look good. I don’t want people to worry about me.”‘
Although the plan seemed to have been worked out, Feinstein claimed that Will Smith’s shocking slap of Chris Rock led to disorder backstage and forced Minnelli out of her preferred chair.
‘And then literally, literally five minutes before she went on, when she sat in the director’s chair back there, and because every, I guess they were all shaken up because of everything that had happened earlier, the stage manager said, “Well, she has to be in a wheelchair” and Liza pleaded,’ he continued.
‘She said, “No, I will not be seen in a wheelchair in front of everybody. I will not do this. I refused to do this.”‘
Feinstein claimed that Oscars organizers threatened to not let Minnelli present — and possibly to force Gaga to do it alone — unless she gave in to their last-minute demands.
‘”Well, it’s either that or nothing,”‘ staff allegedly told her.
Liza’s close friend, musician Michael Feinstein, claimed she was meant to sit on stage in a director’s chair, but instead was ‘forced’ to appear in a wheelchair, which left her flustered and ‘discombobulated’
During the presentation, Liza at times had trouble reading her lines, though Lady Gaga helped her along
Although Liza may not have presented herself in the manner that she hoped for, the audience was clearly excited to see her and gave her a standing ovation as she arrived on stage with Lady Gaga
Feinstein said he asked Liza how she wanted to proceed, and she responded, ‘I’ll do it.’
However, he claimed she was ‘so shaken’ from the confrontation that it left her ‘discombobulated.’
‘She was nervous. I mean, and it made her look like she was out of it. And she was just so shaken up that it was,’ he continued.
Liza’s rare public appearance comes amid the 50th anniversary celebrations of her 1972 classic Cabaret, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress and helped her move out of the shadow of her famous parents, but Feinstein suggested that the Oscars fiasco may have tainted what should be have been a glorious moment for her.
‘Can you imagine being suddenly forced to be seen by millions of people the way you don’t wanna be seen? That’s what happened to her. And she was very disappointed at that, that happened and it was not what was agreed to,’ he said.
‘So she is really doing well and it’s a shame that it turned out that way. She was very disappointed.’
Although Liza may not have presented herself in the manner that she hoped for, the audience was clearly excited to see her and gave her a standing ovation as she arrived on stage with Lady Gaga.
‘Do you see that? The public, they love you,’ said the Poker Face singer as she got the card with the winner ready.
During the presentation, Liza at times had trouble reading her lines, though Gaga helped her along.
‘I got you,’ she said sweetly to the stage and screen veteran, to which Minnelli replied, ‘I know.’
Viewers at home applauded Gaga’s kindness on social media, particularly as a contrasted to Will Smith’s shocking slap and shouted profanities earlier in the evening, calling it a ‘highlight of the night.’
Liza’s rare public appearance comes amid the 50th anniversary celebrations of her 1972 classic Cabaret, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress
Liza Minnelli’s role in cabaret helped her move out of the shadow of her famous parents, Judy Garland and theater director Vincente Minnelli
Liza’s former rep Scott Gorenstein said that he’d been approached by Oscars officials who hoped to bring the legend to the show to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Cabaret.
‘I wanted to remind people who she is,’ Gorenstein said of his client, who has kept a low profile in recent years, with her last acting credit in Arrested Development in 2013.
‘Liza is living her best life, not having to be in front of the cameras,’ Gorenstein said. ‘She’s been under tremendous pressure her entire life to perform for audiences. The past couple of years have allowed her to relax and enjoy another phase of her life. She has had some health problems.’
He continued: ‘However, when an opportunity comes in front of me that says, “Would Liza Minnelli like to present the Best Picture Oscar with Lady Gaga?” the quiet life goes out of the window! Liza is a legend and she deserves to be at the Academy Awards, so I put it in front of her people and recommended that she do it. I said it would be a historic occasion.’
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