Liza Minnelli is finally telling her side of one of the most talked-about Oscars moments in recent memory, and she’s not holding back. In her upcoming memoir, the legendary performer opens up about what really happened during her widely scrutinized 2022 Academy Awards appearance alongside Lady Gaga, claiming she felt blindsided, humiliated, and forced into a situation she never agreed to. The bombshell revelations are just one part of a deeply personal book that also explores Liza Minnelli’s childhood with Judy Garland, her struggles with addiction, and the life experiences that shaped her career.

Liza Minnelli tore into Lady Gaga and the Oscars four years after she was humiliated by her chaotic appearance at the awards show.

As a refresher, Gaga rolled Minnelli onstage in a wheelchair to present best picture at the 2022 Academy Awards, then leaned down and tried to get her to sing a song from her 1972 movie “Cabaret,” only for Minnelli to cut her off and say, “Hi, everybody!” The younger singer then whispered, “I got you,” which was caught on the mic and only fueled speculation about Minnelli’s health.

Now Minnelli has offered her own honest account of the onstage fiasco in her upcoming memoir, “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!,” as told to Michael Feinstein and excerpted by PEOPLE.

Minnelli alleged that she “was inexplicably ordered, not even asked, to sit in a wheelchair or not appear at all.”

“I was told it was because of my age, and for safety reasons, because I might slip out of the director’s chair, which was bullsh-t,” she claimed. “I will not be treated this way.”

Minnelli revealed she was devastated by how events unfolded, particularly because the change impacted her ability to perform comfortably.

She was “heartbroken” by the turn events had taken, on top of which she “was much lower down than I would have been in the director’s chair. Now I couldn’t easily read the teleprompter above me. How would you feel if you were wheeled out, against your will, to perform in front of a live audience, and unable to see clearly?”

Minnelli then pointedly recalled that “when I stumbled over a few words, Gaga, who was at my side, didn’t miss a beat to play the kindhearted hero for all the world to see. ‘I got you,’ she said, leaning down over me.”

Following the presentation, Minnelli said Gaga approached her privately backstage.

Gaga asked, “Are you okay?” to which Minnelli replied simply, “I’m a big fan,” having “learned this lesson years ago from Mama and Papa. At a moment of high stress, you stay gracious.”

In the immediate aftermath of the Oscars, Minnelli’s close friend Michael Feinstein publicly claimed she had been “forced” into the wheelchair appearance at the last minute after initially agreeing to appear in a director’s chair due to back trouble.

The memoir also delves into Minnelli’s upbringing as the daughter of Hollywood icon Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli.

In one excerpt, she reflected on caring for her mother during Garland’s struggles with addiction. “At 13, I was my mother’s caretaker, a nurse, doctor, pharmacologist, and psychiatrist rolled into one,” she wrote, per PEOPLE. “I lost count of the times I called doctors to say she’d run out of pills. I’d say, ‘I’m a kid! Please fill my mama’s prescription!’”

She also recalled the constant travel of her childhood. “I’ll never forget the day she sat us down and gave Lorna and me a choice; Joey was less than 1 year old,” Minnelli shared. “We could stay in school in Los Angeles. Or we could come on the road with her. We’d be in and out of different hotels, schools (I’d eventually attend 22 of them), and cities. ‘When do we leave?’ we answered in unison.”

Eric Dane spent years playing the confident heartthrob on television, but away from the cameras, his life was far more complicated. 

The actor’s final chapter was marked by illness, reconciliation, financial strain, and emotional honesty. 

As ALS slowly took control of his body, Dane leaned on the people closest to him, including Rebecca Gayheart, despite their long separation. 

Behind the fame was a man grappling with fear, regret, and the reality of leaving his daughters too soon.

Long before the public learned of Eric Dane’s illness, subtle physical changes had already begun. 

What first seemed minor gradually became impossible to ignore. Still, those closest to him reportedly struggled to accept the seriousness of what was happening.

“When he started getting symptoms, they both made excuses to each other about them. The last thing either of them thought was that he was suffering from anything fatal,” an insider revealed to the Daily Mail. 

When doctors confirmed ALS in late 2023, the news was paralyzing. “When they finally got the terrifying news, they were in shock for days,” the source added. 

Dane chose not to go public immediately. Instead, he processed the diagnosis quietly with his family. 

By the time he shared his condition in April 2025, his inner circle had already begun preparing for a future they never imagined.

Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart had been separated for years, with divorce proceedings lingering since 2018. However, once ALS entered the picture, everything shifted.

The month before the “Grey’s Anatomy” star disclosed his illness publicly, Gayheart withdrew her divorce filing. 

According to one source, “Rebecca has been by Eric’s side through his entire health battle.” The insider added, “She is a kind woman and has been nothing but loving to him during his darkest hours.”

Despite living separate lives, their bond endured. “There was a lot of love there,” the source explained.

Gayheart reportedly attended many of her husband’s medical appointments and helped shoulder the emotional weight for their daughters. 

Watching his rapid decline was overwhelming. “Watching him deteriorate so rapidly took its toll on Rebecca big time,” another insider shared.

Even her relationship with businessman Peter Morton was affected. Though they had discussed a future together, Dane’s health crisis put those plans on hold. 

Still, Morton remained supportive. “Peter is generous. If Rebecca has ever needed anything, he has been there,” a source said.

While Dane had starred in seven seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy” and appeared in HBO’s “Euphoria,” ALS dramatically changed his earning power. The disease eventually left him wheelchair-bound and in need of full-time care.

Considering that treatment for ALS is notoriously expensive, especially when families seek top specialists, his finances took a big hit. 

“He spent a fortune on getting the best doctors, which insurance doesn’t always cover, and he had to hire full-time care,” one insider revealed. 

The source admitted, “I don’t know if I would say Eric was broke when he died, but I don’t think there was a lot of money in his bank account.”

In his final months, Dane reportedly lived in a Los Angeles property owned by Johnny Depp, staying rent-free to ease financial pressure. 

For a man once at the height of network television fame, it was a humbling turn.

Meanwhile, Gayheart prioritized stability for their daughters, who had been living with her full-time for years.

ALS was not the first major struggle Eric Dane faced. Years earlier, his career had been rocked by addiction issues. 

After initially achieving sobriety before joining “Grey’s Anatomy,” he later relapsed during the 2007 writers’ strike.

“I am not good with a lot of time on my hands,” he once admitted. In 2011, he entered rehab for prescription painkiller addiction. 

Around the same time, he experienced severe depression. “That was a scary thing, when you wake up and you’re like: ‘I don’t want to get out of bed,’” he recalled during a 2017 appearance on “Today.”