Perhaps no one stands to gain more from the “ Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” buzz than Cher.
After a nearly eight-year absence from the big screen, the legendary singer-actress steals the show in the ABBA movie musical as Ruby Sheridan, mother to Donna (Meryl Streep and Lily James) and grandmother to Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). The film sees her crooning the 1976 hit “Fernando” to a dashing love interest with that name (Andy Garcia).
With its 1970s Europop tunes and disco-fabulous outfits, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” seems tailor made for Cher’s longtime gay fan base ― and she’s perfectly OK with that. (Her forthcoming ABBA cover album will undoubtedly appease those queer admirers too.)
Speaking to GLAAD’s Anthony Ramos this week, she recalled feeling a connection with gay men when she was a kid.
“I was 12 years old, and I came home from school, and there were these two guys in our living room,” she said. “They were talking to my mom and her best friend. They were so happy and excited about everything they were talking about ― so animated. And I thought, ‘These guys are much more fun than the regular men that come over to visit.’”
She continued, “I didn’t know that they were gay, but I just thought, ‘These guys are great,’ and it just started from then.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Cher and Garcia spoke about working on “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.” They were among the handful of cast members who didn’t appear in 2008’s “Mamma Mia!” which grossed more than $600 million worldwide.
“When I’m watching a movie, I want it to be great,” Cher said. “But if it’s not, I start picking it apart. I can’t help myself, and then it gets ruined. But with this, I think you’re swept away in their excitement. I think that it’s just pure joy and fabulous.”