Cher Wondered ‘What Do I Have to F---ing Do’ to Get into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Before Finally Being Inducted

The music legend opened up about her "love-hate" relationship with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame following her Oct. 19 induction

<p>Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic</p> Cher at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Oct. 19 in Cleveland

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Cher at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Oct. 19 in Cleveland

There was a time Cher didn't "Believe" she'd ever be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

However, the music legend was finally inducted into the organization on Saturday, Oct. 19, in Cleveland.

After singing her smash 1998 hit "Believe" with pop star Dua Lipa then a solo performance of "If I Could Turn Back Time," Cher, 78, was formally inducted by actress Zendaya.

Onstage, the Oscar winner quipped that it was "easier getting divorced from two men" — referencing her high-profile splits from her late famous exes Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman — than it has been to get into the Rock Hall, despite her six decades of reinvention in show business.

<p>Kevin Mazur/Getty</p> Cher with Dua Lipa (left) and Zendaya (right) at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Oct. 19 in Cleveland

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Cher with Dua Lipa (left) and Zendaya (right) at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Oct. 19 in Cleveland

Cher's induction comes nearly a year after she put the organization on blast for prior snubs. During a December 2023 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, she said "I wouldn't be in it now if they gave me a million dollars," adding: "They can just go you-know-what themselves." 

But the icon — who has been eligible for induction for 34 years, since 1990 — clearly had a change of heart after her selection this year.

“I said I didn't give a flying f--- if I got in,” she told reporters backstage after her induction. "I had kind of a love-hate relationship."

Before finally being inducted, “I thought, ‘What do I have to f---ing do, y’know, to be inducted into this place? What do you have to do to really be a part of it?'" she said. "So then I was really proud to say, 'I don't want to be a part of it.'"

But when she saw her name among her fellow honorees', she thought again.

Related: Cher Announces Book Tour for Upcoming Memoir with Stops in New York City, London, San Francisco and More (Exclusive)

<p>Kevin Mazur/Getty</p> Cher with boyfriend Alexander "AE" Edwards and his son Slash at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Oct. 19 in Cleveland

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Cher with boyfriend Alexander "AE" Edwards and his son Slash at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Oct. 19 in Cleveland

“I got really softened when I heard the people that were gonna be in — people that I admire," Cher — who attended the ceremony with her boyfriend Alexander "AE" Edwards and his 5-year-old son — said of the 2024 class of inductees, which includes Mary J. Blige, Dionne Warwick, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & The Gang, Ozzy Osborne, and A Tribe Called Quest. "I just thought, ‘I’m gonna be with this group of people’ ... They’re great, and I'm happy to just be with them.”

Another element that helped take the edge off, she explains, was a letter written to the organization by her former flame, record executive David Geffen.

“I have to tell you, I would have said to David, ‘David, please take it back (the letter),’ but he was [saying], ‘Sweetheart, you know this is great, you deserve it.’ And I felt good," Cher said.

Now, it seems, her current relationship with the Rock Hall now is more love than hate.

“I can say that I’m happy I’m in,” she says, “because if I didn’t feel like it, I wouldn’t say it — I wouldn’t be here.”

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