The Academy Awards in 2014 had Ellen Degeneres as the host, and she mocked Liza Minelli, who was not sitting in the front or even that close to the front. Judy Garland’s talented daughter, Liza, was pointed out by a vicious Degeneres, “I have to say one of the most amazing Liza Minelli impersonators I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” as the camera panned to a stunned Liza. “Good job, sir,” Degeneres said. Minelli is seen looking at her sister laughing, below.
How utterly rude.
Liza Minelli acted, sang and danced on Broadway and in films. Born in 1946 to her legendary mother, she was sixty-eight when Ellen made fun of her looks in front of many people who liked Minelli. From starring in Cabaret to working alongside Dudley Moore in Arthur (watch it, it’s hilarious), Liza held her own against even Mikhail Baryshnikov (ballet dancer who defected from Soviet Union). She could sing, dance and act very well.
Minelli had suffered with her alcoholism and then an addiction to pain pills, so she was no stranger to the darker side of life, and yet Liza managed to work steadily most of the time. When Liza contracted a very serious case of viral encephalitis in 2000, she was told she would never talk again or even walk. Ever. How devastating.
Liza fought her diagnosis, and she took vocal lessons to regain use of her vocal cords, and dance lessons helped Liza walk again. She appeared in a smattering of shows and on stages since 2000, but in 2014 at the Academy Awards where Liza Minelli sat next to her sister watching the show, she suddenly became the butt of Ellen’s joke.
Minelli later said it hurt her to be disparaged and mocked on live television. Ellen then came up to Liza to take a selfie. Minelli tried to go with the flow, but what 58 year old who has struggled for years with ailments wanted to be a joke?
This was a new low for Ellen Degeneres. And a terrible embarrassment for Ms. Liza Minelli.