Cher Says She Dates Younger Men Because Older Ones are Dead, Cowards

Rolling Stones

The singer also discussed why her record label didn’t want her to release “Believe” with auto-tune on the Jennifer Hudson Show

Cher offered a very concise and, to be honest, pretty reasonable explanation for why she tends to date younger men: The older ones are either cowards or dead.

The singer/actress dropped this nugget of wisdom on the Jennifer Hudson Show while discussing the time she turned down Elvis. Cher admitted it wasn’t so much a rejection as her own reservations taking hold — “I was kind of nervous of his reputation” — before going on to say she’s “really shy” when she’s not working and often shy around men.

Then, with no prompting, she quipped: “And the reason I go out with young men is because men my age are older — well, now they’re all dead — but before, they were always terrified to approach me. And younger men were the only ones that…”

After Hudson chimed in, “They’re bold,” Cher added: “Yeah, raised by women like me.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Cher spoke about the incredible influence her mother had on her singing, her friendship with Meryl Streep, and how her current boyfriend, Alexander Edwards, introduced her to the Tupac catalog (“I was so taken aback by the depth of the words,” Cher said). The pop star also spoke about one of her most significant contributions to music: Using auto-tune on her 1998 smash, “Believe.”

“We had to talk the record company into it,” the recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee recalled. “They said, ‘You don’t know it’s you right at the beginning.’ And I said, ‘Yes, and that’s the brilliance of it!’ … I’m proud of that.”