Cher says son Chaz transitioning was “difficult for me”

Cher has reflected on her son Chaz’s transition, which she says was “difficult” for her as a parent.

The iconic singer was discussing her “difficult, challenging, exciting, interesting” experiences of parenthood in a new interview with the LA Times, which included Chaz coming out as transgender in 2009.

“When Chaz went through the transition, that was difficult for me,” she said. “It shouldn’t have been because, you know, I’ve had gay friends forever. I just met some beautiful trans chicks and we have an affinity. Now I’m totally fine,” she continued.

She later explained that the “hard thing for me” wasn’t the transition itself but rather “waiting to see who the person would be”.

She added: “It’s hard to lose one child to get a new one, especially so late. I think that was the hard thing for me. I don’t think it was the transition. It was waiting to see who the person would be, and would they be so much different than the person that was before them.”

Cher had previously acknowledged that she hadn’t handled Chaz’s transition “all that well in the beginning”.

“It took me a minute. Because you’ve been with a child for 40 years, and then all of a sudden … but you know what? Chaz was so happy!”

In other news, the artist recently said that she would consider leaving the United States if Donald Trump wins next year’s presidential election.

Speaking to The Guardian, the singer said, “I almost got an ulcer the last time. If he gets in, who knows? This time I will leave [the country].”

It is not the first time that Cher has been outspoken about the former president. In December 2020, Cher said that Trump had turned culture in the US “toxic” during his time in office. “People who just disagreed with each other before are now enemies,” she said. “I hate to even call him a president because all he does is watch TV.”