Jack Nicholson and George Miller called Cher ‘too old, not sexy’

Veteran singer-actor Cher has revealed filmmaker George Miller and Jack Nicholson did not want to cast her in Witches of Eastwick (1987) because they found her “too old and not sexy”.

The 72-year-old icon told the story about her Witches of Eastwick co-star during a recent concert in Atlantic City.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Cher said the director and the actor made her feel insecure about her age.

Cher said that she was “dreading” turning 40 in 1986. But, after a “fantastic” birthday party her attitude towards turning old improved.

“So I went to sleep, dreaming these fabulous thoughts of being 40 and it was good. And I was going to get all these movies and I was just so happy. And in the morning, my telephone rang and the man said, ‘Hi, Cher, it’s George Miller.’ I said, ‘Hey, George.’ He was the director of Witches of Eastwick. So he said, ‘I just wanted to call and tell you that I don’t want you in my movie, and Jack Nicholson and I think you’re too old and you’re not sexy.’ Good morning, 40!”

She added that tears “started streaming down my old face. I was heartbroken. I wanted this movie so badly. Usually, in Hollywood, if you insult somebody, you hang up. He didn’t want to hang up. He just wanted to tell me everything: ‘I hate the way you walk, I hate the way you talk, I don’t like the colour of your hair, I don’t like your eyes.’”

Cher hit back at Miller and eventually won the lead role of Alexandra Medford in the awardwinning Witches of Eastwick, starring alongside Nicholson, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer.