Cher Responds to Michael Douglas Questioning Her Oscar Win

Cher isn't holding a grudge against Michael Douglas after the actor publicly questioned whether she deserved her 1988 Academy Award. The 80-year-old singer, who won Best Actress for her performance in Moonstruck, responded to his remarks with surprising generosity.

“Cher adores Michael Douglas,” a representative for the star told Entertainment Weekly when asked to comment on the actor's remarks.

The controversy began when 82-year-old Douglas appeared on The Graham Norton Show on October 30. Also among the guests was 79-year-old Glenn Close, who starred alongside Douglas in the thriller Fatal Attraction.

During the conversation, Close joked that she would receive an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in November, suggesting that members of the Academy had perhaps finally decided to ease their guilty consciences. The actress has received eight Oscar nominations throughout her career but has never won a competitive award.

Douglas was quick to bring up one of her most painful Oscar disappointments, insisting that she should have won in 1988.

“She should have won for Fatal Attraction,” the actor declared.

He was referring to Close's nomination for her performance in the 1987 psychological thriller. However, the Best Actress award went to Cher for Moonstruck.

“Wow!” host Graham Norton reacted.

“I know. That's what we all said,” Douglas joked, prompting laughter in the studio.

“That's a dig!” fellow guest Naomi Ackie remarked.

Norton added that at least Cher had gone gray for her role, referring to her character's look in the film.

In Fatal Attraction, Douglas played Dan Gallagher, a lawyer who has an affair with his colleague Alex Forrest, portrayed by Close. The film received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress, but failed to win a single competitive award.

Cher, meanwhile, took home the statuette for playing Loretta Castorini in the romantic comedy Moonstruck. In the film, her character falls in love with her fiancé's younger brother, played by Nicolas Cage.

Cher's fellow nominees in the Best Actress category that year included Holly Hunter (Broadcast News), Sally Kirkland (Anna), Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction) and Meryl Streep (Ironweed).