Cher got hit with a criminal citation and a court date for smacking a guy who writes parking tickets in Manhattan. The 84-year-old diva had left her car in a spot reserved for deliveries for about three hours while she went shopping, according to police. When she came back, the car was gone. It had been towed.
That’s when things went downhill.
Witnesses say Cher spotted a young attendant writing tickets across the street. She stopped traffic, jaywalked over 4th Avenue, got in his face, and smacked him.
“It happened really fast,” said a man who was waiting at a bus stop nearby. “One second she’s yelling from the curb, the next she’s in the middle of the street with cabs honking at her. Then, boom. She slaps the kid.”
The attendant, who looked to be in his early twenties, didn’t fight back. He stepped away, called for help, and waited for officers to arrive. Bystanders said he looked more confused than hurt.
“He just kept saying, ‘I didn’t tow your car, ma’am. I just write the tickets,'” one woman said. “She didn’t want to hear it.”
Officers who showed up decided the elderly singer didn’t need to be arrested. Instead, they wrote her a criminal citation and gave her a date to appear in court.
According to police, Cher was still upset when they got there. She accused the officers, and the attendant, of working for the federal government. “She said we work for ICE,” said Alex Bruno, an NYPD officer. “Honestly, she seems a little out of it.”
Bruno said the officers tried to calm her down and explain where her car had been taken. She eventually left the scene in a cab, still complaining loudly about the city.
Cher has never been shy about her opinions. She has spent years attacking President Trump online and once threatened to leave the country if he won. She also hasn’t been shy about her feelings on immigration enforcement, often slamming ICE in posts to her millions of followers.
Still, fans were surprised by the news. Some said the story didn’t sound like the Cher they knew. Others said it sounded exactly like her. “She’s always been a firecracker,” one longtime fan wrote online. “But slapping a parking guy? Come on, Cher.”
Her representatives have not commented on the incident.
The city’s parking agents’ union said it was “disturbed” by the attack and reminded New Yorkers that its members are just doing their jobs. A spokesperson said attacks on traffic agents happen more often than people think, and celebrities don’t get a pass.
The tow lot, meanwhile, confirmed that Cher’s car was picked up later that evening. She paid the fees in full. Her arraignment is next Thursday. If she bothers to show.