Music and film icon Cher, now aged 79, has made waves once again with a refreshingly blunt take on aging — and what it means (or doesn’t mean) for wisdom. In a recent interview on CBS Mornings with host Gayle King, Cher didn’t mince words: when asked how she feels about getting older, her immediate response was, “Yes. I hate it!” (source).
When King offered that getting older often brings experience or wisdom, Cher pushed back just as directly: “Oh, I’m stupid. I’m not wiser.” (source) In short, the superstar rejects the conventional narrative that age automatically equals insight. She emphasised that despite more than six decades in show business, she doesn’t feel older in any qualitatively “wiser” sense.
Cher also noted that throughout her career — spanning music, film, fashion and business ventures — she’s never felt the need to reinvent who she is. “I’ve always been exactly who I am,” she told King. (source) In fact, she likened her mindset to a “bumper car” — if she hits a wall, she backs up and goes in a different direction, but the driver remains the same.
Despite her candid dislike for aging, Cher shows no signs of slowing down. She continues to explore new creative avenues — including her entrepreneurial venture in the food business, and plans for further projects. Her force of nature persona remains undimmed. Her remarks on aging do not reflect regret, but rather a refusal to buy into easy platitudes about getting older being “better.” According to Cher, age is simply a number, and it doesn’t warrant the automatic upgrade to wisdom that society often assigns it.
View this post on Instagram
In a culture that frequently valorises graceful aging or “earned” maturity, Cher’s forthright commentary stands out. It prompts a fresh perspective: perhaps age is not intrinsically valuable — unless one chooses to make it so. For Cher, the choice is less about turning back time and more about staying in motion on her own terms.