Cher’s ‘Burlesque’ Solo Was Almost Cut By Exec Who Didn’t Want Her to ‘Ruin’ His Movie

Burlesque packed as much drama into its 120-minute runtime as it did music, but there was plenty of tension off-screen, too. During a recent appearance on Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard, Cher revealed that someone with authority on set nearly had her big solo recording pulled from the film.

“The song that I did in the movie, he said, ‘I’m cutting that song out ’cause I don’t want Cher to ruin my movie,’” Cher said, seated next to co-star Kristen Bell, who noted that this was the first she’d heard of this happening but agreed it was a “hard shoot.” While Christina Aguilera led the soundtrack as Ali, Cher recorded two songs for the film as Tess, though she doesn’t specify which was in danger of being axed.

Early in the movie, Cher performs “Welcome to Burlesque” at the Los Angeles burlesque club she owns, which plays a pivotal role in inspiring Aguilera’s character to pursue her Hollywood dreams there. Later on, with the possibility of losing her club due to financial hardships weighing heavily, Cher performs the knockout solo “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me.” Both are foundational to the film.

Written by Diane Warren, “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song in 2011. It beat out Aguilera’s performance of “Bound to You” from later in the film. The song also earned a nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 54th Grammy Awards.

Cher said she has stories for days from shooting Burlesque, but she won’t reveal them all. “It could have been a really good fun movie except for you know who — except for both of them,” she says without naming names. She does clarify that she isn’t referencing any cast members.

Shepard, who had already been dating Bell for a while when she landed the role, provided brief context to the behind-the-scenes drama. “There was a romantic relationship happening for people that were very high above, and that was playing out on set quite frequently and dramatically,” he said. Cher agreed, teasing, “Well, there was another thing that I cannot mention — but I can’t mention it.”