Cher V Babs: Singer Going Up Against Streisand By Launching Memoir at Same Time as Fellow Icon — ‘Their Bad Blood’s Still There’
Aug. 12 2024, Published 2:12 p.m. ET
Cher is going all out to one-up Barbra Streisand in the memoir business as the showbiz divas' simmering 50-year-old feud heats up, a source shared with RadarOnline.com.
The 78-year-old Turn Back Time songbird is launching her two-part blockbuster life story with Cher: The Memoir, Part One, to be published on November 19. Part two is slated to follow with a 2025 release.
Her announcement came after last year's November release of the 82-year-old Funny Girl star's autobiography, My Name is Barbra. The savagery of their alleged musical rivalry has now entered into the literary world, according to the insider.
The source spilled: "Everyone knows these two have butted heads since the 1970s, and the bad blood is still there.
"It's a real no-no to put them in the same room, especially as Cher's memoir is finally coming out. There's quite a lot of backbiting going on in the Malibu social circles as Cher's vowing her book will be a mega-hit and knock Barbra's out of the water."
Babs' memoir took her 10 years to complete, but sold a mere 467k copies in its first week on shelves in the United States. The 1,000-page book was priced at a whopping $47 per copy.
While Cher's rep denied she was squaring off with the The Way We Were star over book sales, our source noted: "Cher has been working on her hotly anticipated memoir for many years and was very annoyed that Barbra got hers out first.
"So, when it was a flop, she was openly gloating, which of course got back to Barbra. It goes without saying she won't be very happy if Cher's memoir flies off the shelves."
Meanwhile, Cher admitted the writing process was torturous, but teased that her book definitely contained bombshells.
The pop star said: "I just totally chickened out [at first]. I didn't put in some things that need to be in, and they're not comfortable. But they need to be put in, so I have to go back and man up."
The first installment details Cher's difficult childhood and her dyslexia, her stormy marriage to Sonny Bono, their years as the duo Sonny & Cher and co-hosting The Sonny & Cher Show.
The insider said: "Cher's had a very storied, colorful life, but Barbra is not impressed. She's rolling her eyes and hoping Cher's book falls flat."
The explosive feud between the songstresses can be traced back to a party in the '70s, where Cher was supposedly snubbed by her rumored rival.
The insider recalled: "Barbra had a chance to meet Cher, but she wasn't interested and declined an introduction. That's always bugged Cher.
"Many years later, they would meet and have a conversation ... [but] Cher will forever resent that snubbing".
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