Cher Causes Confusion at the Grammys After Naming the Wrong Winner on Stage
Cher brought the 2026 Grammy Awards to a crashing, shambolic end by walking offstage prematurely and later accidentally announcing the late Luther Vandross as the winner of a major award.
The music icon initially took the stage to accept her own Lifetime Achievement Award, delivering a poignant speech about resilience before assuming her duties were finished. She attempted to exit the stage, forcing host Trevor Noah to call her back to present the final honor of the night.
The confusion only deepened when it came time to announce the winner for Record of the Year. Cher appeared momentarily lost, admitting to the audience that she expected the name to appear on the teleprompter.
After realizing she needed to open the physical envelope, she read the contents and ecstatically declared the winner to be Luther Vandross. The blunder was particularly striking because the intended winner was Kendrick Lamar for his chart-topping hit Luther, which features SZA and samples the late Luther Vandross.
Lamar, who is thirty-eight, reacted with a mix of amusement and bemusement as he realized the seventy-nine-year-old legend had named the man who inspired the song rather than the artist who recorded it. Cher quickly caught her mistake, laughing as she corrected herself by shouting out Kendrick Lamar’s name over the walk-on music.
Fans online immediately erupted in a mix of hilarity and disbelief, with many joking that the legend seemed to be operating on her own unique frequency. Some viewers quipped that it appeared as though Cher was just discovering the news of Vandross’s passing in real time.
Despite the chaotic presentation, the sentiment remained celebratory, as Lamar used his acceptance speech to pay his own respects to the late crooner who served as the track’s foundation.
As of this year, the “Goddess of Pop” is showing no signs of slowing her pace despite the onstage hiccups. She is currently preparing for the November release of the second volume of her highly anticipated memoir, titled Cher: Part Two. This concluding chapter of her life story is expected to cover her massive career resurgence in the eighties and nineties, including her Oscar win and the groundbreaking success of the “Believe” era.
Beyond her writing, the superstar is reportedly finalizing a multi-million-dollar deal with Netflix for a seven-part documentary series tentatively titled Sharing Her Story. The project aims to provide an intimate, tell-all look at her seven decades in the spotlight, coinciding with the launch of her final studio album. She has recently teased that this upcoming record will likely be the last one she ever does, though she remains as excited as ever about the quality of the new tracks.
On the film front, Cher is set to co-produce a long-awaited biopic of her life at Universal Pictures, developed alongside the producers of Mamma Mia!. The script is being penned by her longtime friend and Academy Award winner Eric Roth.
Do you think Cher’s accidental tribute to Luther Vandross was the funniest moment in Grammy history, or did it overshadow Kendrick Lamar’s big win? Share your thoughts in the comments!