The entertainment industry continues to mourn the loss of Tina Turner as celebrity friends celebrate her life and legacy – including one of Tina’s closest friends, Cher. The 77-year-old singer opened up about her closer relationship with Turner during an interview on MSNBC’s The Beat with Ari Melber on May 24.
“First, she fought this sickness for such a long time and she was so strong as you would think she would be,” Cher said of Tina – who she visited regularly towards the end of her life. “And then towards the end, I know that she told me once, she said, ‘I’m really ready. I just don’t want to put up with this anymore.'”
Cher wanted Tina to know that she wouldn’t be forgotten and that her legacy would live on forever, which is why she chose to spend so much time with her leading up to her death. She also confirmed that Tina was enjoying her life and ‘having a good time’ despite her illness and deteriorating health in recent years.
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Tina Turner suffered from a multitude of life-threatening diseases, which she outlined in her 2018 memoir, My Love Story. She had high blood pressure that eventually resulted in kidney failure, a stroke that resulted in her needing to learn how to walk again, and was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016.
Not only that, but Turner suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of her abusive relationship with Ike Turner – the couple were married between 1962 and 1978. Tina abruptly left the relationship in search of a better life and it was at that time she developed a close friendship with Cher.
“As a woman, she gave you lots of strength. And I’m sure she’s encouraged so many young people, but she gave me lots of strength sometimes, and I gave her lots of strength, too. I think we were perfect friends for each other, truthfully,” Cher said of her friend, who passed away on May 24 of natural causes.
“She might not have won every battle but she fought every war,” Cher continued her praise. She went on to call Tina Turner ‘one of the great artists in our generation’ and declared there ‘was no other person like her’ – further declaring there ‘was no other person who could even come close to who she was.’
Cher Reveals the Final Gift Tina Turner Gave Her
Cher and Tina Turner shared a lot of good memories and distinct laughter in their many years as close friends. From the moment she first met her, Cher knew she was in the presence of an icon. “I felt it was like the oxygen was kind of being sucked out of the hallway,” she said of meeting Tina for the first time.
Leading up to her death, Tina Turner gave Cher a very special gift that will help her remember the life and legacy her friend is leaving behind – as if she needs help remembering. The gift was a pair of ‘Tina Turner shoes,’ which she describes as her ‘big high heels.’ Tina popularized the heels throughout the 1980s.
Of course, Cher wasn’t the only celebrity who paid tribute to Tina Turner over the past few days. The entire entertainment industry has taken time to honor the life and death of a legend, who many refer to as the ‘Queen of Rock & Roll.’ Her story has inspired millions of people from all different walks of life.
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“I was certainly aware that she was ill. I had seen her in 2019 and gone to visit her in the hospital and she had said to me then that she was actually ready to go, meaning, ready to leave the planet. I expected then that was going to be the last time that I saw her,” Oprah Winfrey said of Turner following her death.
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