What to Know
Cher celebrated her 80th birthday on May 20, 2026, and in honor of the special occasion, people are remembering some of her most iconic quotes from over the years (and there are lots, of course). Looking back at things Cher said decades ago, people are convinced she was truly ahead of her time—especially when it comes to her comments about gender equality.
In 1978, she spoke about the topic during an interview with People. “It’s one thing to burn your bra and be emancipated, but it’s another to really feel it,” she told the publication at the time.
She also imagined what an equal world would like.
Unfortunately, the vision she had for a future free from patriarchal expectations and gender inequality might even feel like a fantasy today. Interestingly, she focused on how gender equality could benefit men. It’s been nearly 50 years since the interview, and yet, her words still feel relevant.
“When everybody is equal, men will be able to cry and ask directions at a gas station and do all kinds of neat things,” she told the publication at the time.
Years later, during another iconic interview, Cher said she loves men but doesn’t need them.
During the interview, she clarified that she loves and appreciates men, but she compared them to dessert — something that many people crave, but don’t actually need to have.
During the 1996 interview, Cher was asked about the time she said that a man is “a luxury” rather than “a necessity.” She said, “Like dessert, yeah, a man is absolutely not a necessity.”
When asked whether she meant to come across as “mean and bitter,” she said, “Oh, not at all. I adore dessert. I love men. I think men are the coolest, but you don’t really need them to live.” She also recalled a time when her mother told her she should find a man to settle down with.
“My mom said to me, ‘You know, sweetheart, one day you should settle down and marry a rich man. And I said, ‘Mom, I am a rich man.”
And people love her for this.
Even prior to Cher’s 80th birthday, these quotes and others like them resurfaced on social media. Reacting to her “I am a rich man” comment on Reddit, one fan wrote, “The older I get, the more this resonates with me. Absolute queen.” Someone else said, “The way I need this snippet to always be playing somewhere in my brain for all eternity.”
Cher is currently dating Alexander “AE” Edwards, who is about 40 years younger than she is. Some critics have questioned their relationship due to the significant age gap, but Cher doesn’t seem to care what anyone else has to say about it. “Whatever,” she told Gayle King last year when asked about the haters. “They’re not living my life. Nobody knows what goes on between us, but we just have a blast.”
She also said that the age difference hasn’t caused any issues for her and Alexander. “He just says, ‘You know, you get older, but your spirit is younger,'” she said.
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