Cher causes havoc at the Grammys after walking offstage and declaring Luther Vandross as Record of the Year winner

Cher caused havoc at the Grammys as she announced “Luther Vandross” instead of Kendrick Lamar and SZA as the winner of Record of the Year for their song “Luther”.

The pop icon, 79, appeared bemused by her role at this year’s ceremony, having first received a Lifetime Achievement Award before returning to present one of the night’s biggest prizes.

There was confusion as she told the glittering crowd, “I guess I’m supposed to walk off now,” before slowly leaving the stage.

Host Trevor Noah had to call after her and request that she stay to read out the Record of the Year nominees, as a backstage crew member could also be seen explaining the situation to the “Believe” star.

“I could do it, but it’s not the same; I don’t have the track record,” Noah joked.

Returning, Cher then seemed slightly irked as she thought she was reading from the teleprompter, instead of the envelope.

“And the Grammy goes to, oh, they told me it was going to be on the prompter, oh, and the Grammy goes to…”

Cher temporarily paused, looking confused, before announcing: “Luther Vandross.”

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Cameras cut to SZA and Lamar laughing as they realised Cher’s mistake and stood up to collect their award, while Cher corrected herself: “No, Kendrick Lamar!”

Their winning song “Luther” does in fact sample Vandross, who died in 2005, from his 1982 collaboration with Cheryl Lynn on “If This World Were Mine”. It is unclear if Cher was simply confused upon reading “Luther” on the winner’s card, or if there was a note crediting Vandross for the sample.

Accepting the award, a smiling Lamar said: “This is what music is about. Luther Vandross.

“This is special for me, I gotta take my time, because it’s one of my favourite artists of all time, and they granted us the privilege to do our version of it.

“When we got that clearance, I promise you, we definitely all dropped a tear because we know how much him and Cheryl Lynn put into that record, and being able to put our vocals on it proves that we were somewhat worthy to be just as great as them individuals, and they granted us that.”

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He continued: “They said no cursing, though, can't curse on it, that was the only thing right, and we say, 'you know what we're gonna do, just that, no cursing, and we're gonna make sure that this song represents love'. So I want to appreciate and give thanks to SZA.”

SZA thanked Lamar for “lifting me up” and added: “I just am a small part of this record, but what I really wanted to say is, please don't fall into despair.

“I know that right now is a scary time, I know the algorithms tell us that it's so scary and all is lost.

“There’s been world wars, there's been plagues, and we have gone on, we can go on, we need each other, we need to trust each other, trust ourselves, trust your heart. We’re not governed by the government, we’re governed by God, and I thank you so much.”

Viewers watching the ceremony at home praised Cher for bringing some good-natured fun to the evening, with one writing: “[Cher] just proved she still does whatever she wants, including being underwhelmed by her Grammy lifetime achievement award, bragging she was the first to use autotune and forgetting to name award nominees and walking off stage. ICON.”

Another fan said: “That’s the hardest I’ve laughed in 2026. Cher is perfect.”

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“Cher – a fantastic, brilliant, total train wreck at the Grammys… We got you, babe!” another viewer said.

Lamar, who was the most nominated artist at this year’s ceremony with nine, also won Best Rap Album for GNX; Best Rap Song for “TV Off”, featuring Lefty Gunplay; Best Melodic Rap Performance for “Luther” and Best Rap Performance for “Chains And Whips” with Clipse, Pusha T, Malice and Pharrell Williams.

You can find the full list of 2026 Grammy winners here.