That’s showbiz.
Cher and Kristen Bell reflected on their experience working on the drama-filled “Burlesque” set when they reunited on Monday’s episode of “Armchair Expert,” hosted by Bell’s husband, Dax Shepard.
“It could have been a really good, fun movie — except for you know who,” Cher said on the podcast. “Except for both of them.”
The “Believe” singer clarified that she wasn’t referring to any “cast members,” as Bell, 45, chimed in, “It was a hard shoot.”
While the two women didn’t elaborate, Shepard, 51, decided to give some backstory.
“I can say, not being involved in it, is there was a romantic relationship happening for people that were very high above and that was playing out on set quite frequently and dramatically and uniquely to anyone that has been in show business,” Shepard explained.
“Well, there was another thing that I cannot mention — but I can’t mention it,” Cher added.
The pop star also claimed that a male exec said at the time, “I’m cutting that song out because I don’t want Cher to ruin my movie.”
“What? I don’t remember that,” Bell responded.
“I remember a lot of drama,” the “Nobody Wants This” star told Cher, “but also the way I get through dramatic or chaotic situations is to find someone to hold hands with in the corner and just laugh at everything. So I was either doing that with you or Stanley [Tucci].”
Cher remembered bonding with Bell when they were co-stars.
“We got along so well. We were very simpatico and I respected her a lot,” Cher shared. “I didn’t know who she was, but she was good.”
“Burlesque” was directed and written by Steven Antin and starred Cher, Bell, Christina Aguilera, Tucci, Julianne Hough, Alan Cumming, Cam Gigandet and Peter Gallagher.
Around the time of the film’s release, reports claimed that Antin’s romantic relationship with Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper created tension on the set.
The pair, who were dating for 20 years at the time, allegedly had “jaw-dropping” clashes in front of the cast and crew, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
During one incident, Culpepper reportedly poured an iced tea over Antin’s head, forcing Antin to recoil backwards into a rack of clothes, a source on the project claimed.
The heated exchanges were allegedly so bad that at one point Cher told Culpepper, “Clint, I would like a calmer set.”
The insider also claimed that Aguilera tearfully turned to her manager, Irving Azoff, who told Culpepper, “Dude, she came from an abused childhood . . . You can’t yell like this.”
Antin and Culpepper reportedly split close to when the movie came out.
Despite the on-set drama, “Burlesque” was a big success, grossing nearly $100 million at the worldwide box office and winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for Cher’s performance of “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me.”
Cher has criticized “Burlesque” over the years.
“It wasn’t a good film,” she previously told The Times. “It had a few good moments, but I didn’t even like my performance that much. What, I don’t have a brain? I’m old but I’m still pretty on top of everything.”
In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, she called Antin a “really terrible director.”
“I remember him saying to me, I don’t care about what you say, I just want to shoot the dance numbers,” Cher recalled. “Had it been shorter, it would have squeaked by and been a really good popcorn movie.”
