Cher, 79, Sparks 'Dementia' Fears After Embarrassing Grammys Gaff: Veteran Singer Mistakenly Announces Luther Vandross as Winner Two Decades after Crooner's Death
Cher sparked dementia fears following her Grammys' blunder where she mistakenly awarded Luther Vandross with Record of the Year.
Feb. 2 2026, Published 8:36 a.m. ET
Cher has sparked dementia fears after accidentally awarding Luther Vandross a gong during her chaotic Grammys presenting slot, two decades since legendary crooner’s death.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the veteran singer, 79, also walked off stage prematurely before awarding the wrong winner.
Catastrophic Error
Cher's gaff left audiences in hysterics, as well as fearing for her health.
She was supposed to hand Kendrick Lamar the gong for Record of the Year for his track Luther having just accepted her lifetime achievement award.
But after host Trevor Noah called her back, Cher made the catastrophic blunder which left viewers shrieking with laughter.
First she said: "And the Grammy goes to....," trailing off into an awkward pause as she stared forward before saying: "Oh! They told me it was gonna be on the prompter."
Once she realized she did in fact have to open the envelope in her hand, she did so, read it and ecstatically declared the winner: "Luther Gandross [sic]!"
Kendrick, 38, giggled with bemusement at Cher naming Vandross — who has been dead for 20 years — but he recognized that she meant his song and took the stage.
Reading Out The Wrong Winner
Cher's mistake was broadcast live on TV.
Cher did eventually realize her mistake and manage to crow: "Oh, no, Kendrick Lamar!" laughing at her mistake during Lamar and SZA's play-on music.
Vandross was the inspiration for Lamar and SZA's new song Luther, which sampled the late crooner's vocals, so Lamar made sure to thank him in his speech.
But viewers weren't just laughing at Cher’s mistake, they also feared for her well-being, with some claiming the gaff could be a sign of dementia.
Taking to social media, one user wrote on X: "Cher needs to be checked for earlier dementia. Mama is all over the place."
Another added: "Somebody please check Cher in for a dementia check please, she is stressing me out."
Taking Mistake With Grace
Kendrick Lamar saw the funny side to Cher's embarrassing error.
A third added: "I wonder if Cher has dementia," while a fourth chimed in: "At 79 years old she’s bound to display some dementia cropping up."
Cher had everyone out of the seats when she took to the stage in a shredded leather gown and a leather jacket.
She gave a short speech about her decades-long career, explaining that after rocketing to fame as a teen she had no clue she would one day struggle to get work.
She said: "I knew what I wanted to be when I was five-years-old, and I was famous at 19, and had a top-rated show in my twenties, actually.
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Cher had earlier given an emotional speech while picking up her lifetime achievement award.
"But it didn’t occur to me how rough my career was going to be and my life was going to be… I was either a loser or winning an Oscar. I’m sure a lot of you in the audience know what I’m talking about."
Cher spoke openly about the challenges she faced in the early 1980s.
She recalled how she was forced to perform in Las Vegas, then nicknamed the "elephant’s graveyard" before being dropped by her label.
She credited her comeback to the hit single Believe which she revealed was the first track to use autotune, though at the time it was simply called a "pitch machine."
