Cher recalls the first time she ever met a gay person & offers a touching message to her LGBTQ+ fans

The first gay guys I ever met, I was 9 years old.

I walked into my house and there were these two guys there and they started talking to my mom and mom’s best friend. I was thinking, ‘Where have they been hiding these guys?’

I’m 9, but I thought, ‘Wait a minute… Why aren’t the other guys as funny as these guys?’ It really was love at first sight.

And the one thing that I have to say that is serious, that is from the heart, is that I’ve had really ups and downs in my career – I mean, really! – and you guys never left me. So, thank you.

Cher speaking about her lifelong connection to the gay community at a promotional event at The Abbey in West Hollywood, during which also performed her 2002 single “Song for the Lonely.”