Cher Confirms David Letterman Paid $28,000 for Her First Appearance on His Show

Cher is finally opening up about the rumors that she was paid by David Letterman‘s team to appear as a guest on The Late Show for the first time in 1986.

The legendary entertainer famously had refused to appear on the program and when she finally did sit down for an interview, she called him an “assh–e” on air.

“I had a $28,000 hotel bill and Dave Letterman had always asked me to be on his show,” Cher said over the weekend during a concert (via People). “And I said, ‘Yes if you have $28,000.’ But they said no.”

“Then they called back and said yes!” she added. “The producers said, ‘Why did you never want to be on the show before this?’ and I said, ‘Because [Letterman] is very smart and funny but he can be so cruel if he doesn’t like the people.’”

Letterman has previously said the rumors were untrue and said, “If you think this show will cover that hotel bill, you were sadly misled.”