Cher and Barbra Streisand Still Have ‘Bad Blood’ as Their Memoirs Go Head-to-Head
Cher and Barbra Streisand have never seen eye to eye, and now the "If I Could Turn Back Time" diva is going all out to beat her rival with the release of her highly anticipated memoir.
"Everyone knows these two have butted heads since the 1960s," a source exclusively tells Closer. "Although they may have mellowed towards each other in recent years, the bad blood is still there, and it's a real no-no to put them in the same room."
Last month, the "Believe" singer, 78, revealed that she will be releasing a memoir in two parts, with the first half — Cher: The Memoir, Part One — due this fall.
According to publishers, Cher: The Memoir, Part One "follows her extraordinary beginnings through childhood to meeting and marrying Sonny Bono — and reveals the highly complicated relationship that made them world-famous, but eventually drove them apart."
Cher: The Memoir, Part Two will be released in 2025.
"Cher has been working on this memoir for many years and is very annoyed that Barbra beat her to the punch by getting hers out first," the source explains.
The Funny Girl star, 82, got ahead of Cher by releasing My Name Is Barbra on November 7, 2023.
However, the memoir — which is over 900 pages with an audiobook version that exceeds 48 hours — didn't do too well in sales. While it took Barbra years to complete, the tome (which went for a whopping $47 per copy) reportedly didn't come close to selling as many copies as similar books, such as Prince Harry's Spare and Britney Spears' The Woman in Me.
When My Name Is Barbra turned out to be "a flop," says Closer's source, Cher "was openly gloating, which of course got back to Barbra."
The insider shares, "She's well aware that Cher was not-so-secretly rejoicing that her book didn't get such good numbers, and it goes without saying she won't be very happy if Cher's memoir flies off the shelves. There's quite a lot of backbiting going on in the old-school Malibu social circles right now as Cher's vowing her book will be a megahit and knock Barbra's out of the water."
Meanwhile, the source adds, "Barbra is rolling her eyes and hoping it falls flat."
Fans will have to wait and see what stories Cher will tell in her upcoming two-part tome, but it's definitely going to be juicy.
Cher revealed that after being "too chicken" to include some details in the books, she went back and spilled the tea — and some people, including her exes and two adult children, aren't happy.
"She dives into her issues with [first husband] Sonny Bono," including his controlling behavior, an insider told Closer earlier this month. "She'll also take a look at her early years and a childhood that was chaotic at best, with her difficult relationship with her mother."
In a riskier move, she'll open up about her children as well. The source said she'll detail her mixed feelings about Chaz Bono transitioning, in addition to her difficult relationship with Elijah Blue Allman, her son with the late Greg Allman.
"Yes, she worries about how people are going to take it," said the insider. "But Cher figured if she was going to publish a memoir about her life, she might as well be transparent about it. This is her story, and it's the only one she knows."