Cher is facing down accusations of lip-syncing once again, now over her performance on Saturday Night Live this weekend.
The 79-year-old was the show’s musical guest for the first time since her debut in 1987, although she has had multiple cameo appearances in the interim.
However her triumphal return was marred almost as soon as she walked onstage for a rendition of her 2023 single DJ Play a Christmas Song.
When she opened her mouth, the voice that rang out through the studio was so heavily digitally altered that fans were left convulsed with laughter.
One exulted on X, formerly Twitter: ‘cher in a hannah montana wig not even remotely pretending not to lip sync her way through her set. camp is BACK!’
‘The lip syncing is iconic. We love you Cher,’ sniggered another as a third quipped: ‘quick, someone get cher lip-syncing lessons.’
Another snorted: ‘cher not even hiding that lip sync,’ while still another wrote of her sparkly silver microphone: ‘cher’s mic is everything but on………. fierce.’
One fan gushed: ‘idc Cher can do whatever she wants and she’s fabulous,’ as another wrote: ‘Cher is literally the only person who can get away with lip syncing.’
After her performance of DJ Play a Christmas Song had viewers in hysterics, she returned to the stage to sing the 1950s Chuck Berry classic Run Run Rudolph.
Both numbers were featured on her 2023 album Christmas, which was her first ever Yuletide album and contained a mix of original material and seasonal standards.
Cher was accused of lip-syncing two years ago at the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, at which she also sang DJ Play a Christmas Song.
Many viewers were quick to leap onto social media and allege that they could tell Cher was only miming the words to the single.
Some eagle-eyed observers pointed to one moment when she moved her microphone away from her face but the sound of her voice was unaffected.
Meanwhile a number of Cher fans sprang to her defense, arguing that lip-syncing is de rigueur at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Should artists be criticized for lip-syncing if it helps deliver a more entertaining show?
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‘Every one of them lip-syncs for the parade,’ wrote one user of X, formerly Twitter. ‘Cher’s outfit and overall Cher-ness outshines the lip-syncing.’
‘I for one am shocked that Cher is lip syncing at the parade,’ wrote one X user sarcastically. ‘Just aghast at this revelation. What’s next, you’re gonna tell me professional wrestling is scripted???’
In 1991, Cher came in for furious controversy for lip-syncing during a supposed live performance on ABC’s In Concert to promote her album Love Hurts.
The practice was a particularly thorny issue at that stage, as the infamous Milli Vanilli lip-syncing scandal had erupted one year earlier, with the revelation that the R&B duo mimed to the voices of other singers in live concerts.
