Liza Minnelli: ‘Ellen didn’t mean any harm with ‘transphobic’ Oscars joke’
Liza Minnelli has defended Ellen DeGeneres from critics who labelled her transphobic after she made a joke at the Cabaret singer’s expense at the Oscars on Sunday.
While hosting the ceremony, DeGeneres had quipped of Minnelli: “Hello to the best Liza Minnelli impersonator I’ve ever seen. Good job, sir.”
Talking to TMZ, Minnelli said: “I think it went a little stray on her. I don’t think she meant any harm at all, and I think she’s a wonderful lady.”
“I think she thought it would be funny, but she never stopped after she said it to say ‘my friend, Liza Minnelli’.”
The pair appeared to reconcile after the ceremony, as DeGeneres tweeted a picture of the pair labelling them ‘besties’.
#Besties #Oscars2014 pic.twitter.com/gpg9PX5i2H
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014
Liza Minnelli is best known for starring as Sally Bowles in the film version of ‘Cabaret’.
