Cher Says She Was ‘Manhandled’ by Sonny Bono Early in Their Relationship. She Told Him ‘I Will Leave Your Ass’
The Grammy winner details the incident in her new memoir, ‘Cher: The Memoir, Part One,’ out Nov. 19
Cher is opening up about her relationship with Sonny Bono.
In her new memoir, Cher: The Memoir, Part One, out Nov. 19, the Grammy winner, 78, writes that Bono “manhandled” her during an incident early in their relationship.
Cher first met Bono in 1962, when she was 16 and Bono was 27. Cher writes of the early days of their relationship, shortly after Bono’s divorce from his first wife, Donna Rankin, was finalized in fall 1963. Though Cher and Bono couldn’t legally wed under California law, due to Cher’s age and a one-year waiting period before Bono could remarry, the couple moved into a one-bedroom house together in Hollywood.
One day, after Bono brought home a German shepherd puppy, he shoved the dog aside with his foot so hard that it yelped. When Cher reprimanded Bono, he pushed her against the wall, she writes in the book.
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Sonny Bono and Cher in 1966“He didn’t yell and he didn’t hit me, but he had ahold of my shoulders and his face was clenched,” Cher writes. “I was so vehemently opposed to being manhandled, having seen Mom go through it, that I thought, F--- this.”
“If you ever touch me like this again, I will leave your ass and it’ll be the last time you ever see me,” she told him.
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Cher writes that aside from that encounter, the couple “loved being together in that house.” Bono and Cher were officially married in 1969, and had their child, Chaz, the same year. Bono and Cher gained widespread fame as an entertainment duo, with their 1965 hit song, “I Got You Babe,” as well as their television variety show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.
Cher: The Memoir, Part One details Cher’s acclaimed career, as well as her childhood and relationship with Bono; the couple finalized their divorce in 1975, and Bono died in 1998. The second part of the memoir is due to be published in 2025.
In Oct., Cher announced she will embark on a book tour for the memoir, which kicks off in New York City on Nov. 20. Other stops include Englewood, N.J., London, San Francisco and Beverly Hills, Calif.
The star also spoke about the memoir's writing process on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, saying that she originally didn’t include “some things that needed to be put in.”
"I’ve lived too long and done too much and so it’s like it should be the encyclopedia," Cher said.
Cher: The Memoir, Part One is now available, wherever books are sold.
