Cher Was Trapped In ‘Involuntary Bondage’ To Husband Sonny Bono: ‘Then It Got Worse’

Cher’s contract with her ex-husband and musical collaborator, Sonny Bono, effectively placed her in “involuntary servitude”, the pop icon has claimed.

In a new two-part memoir, the “Believe” star recalls a conversation with her then-boyfriend, recording artist David Geffen, who asked her how she was paid.

At the time, Cher – born Cherilyn Sarkisian – was in the process of divorcing Bono and nearing the end of their star-making variety show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hourwhich was canceled due to their split in 1974.

“I told him I didn’t know (how I was paid) because I had never read it,” Cher wrote. “‘Tis time you did,” he replied, and somehow got his hands on the document, I don’t know how.

“He called me after reading it and said, ‘Honey, this contract is involuntary servitude. You work for Sonny. You have no rights, no vote, no money, nothing. You are employed by something called ‘Cher Enterprises’ with a salary you probably never got paid and three weeks holiday a year.

“He owns 95 percent of the company, and the rest belongs to his lawyer, Irwin Spiegel.”

Cher said she was shocked and initially refused to believe this was the case: “Then David started reading me the contract and sure enough I couldn’t even sign a (check) or withdraw any money without Sonny or Irwin’s signature.

“I was employed by Cher Enterprises with no ownership, so I couldn’t access any of the money I made for the company,” she said.

“On top of that, I was signed to the company and could only work with Sonny’s permission. Not only did that mean I had no money, I had no way to make money unless Sonny signed off on it.”

“Everything David told me was a kick in the gut,” she continued. “I couldn’t believe it was true. I could understand the words, I just couldn’t understand the meaning—How did it happen? How could Sonny do that in good conscience? He had been everything to me, and for some time I had been everything for him. Then it got worse. David told me I was locked into Cher Enterprises for another two years.”

Cher said she was “more heartbroken than angry” at her situation as she slowly realized that Bono would have left her with only his car and clothes: “It took several days for the full horror to sink in,” she continued .

“I’d worked my whole life, but apparently I had nothing to show for it. I never for a second imagined I’d have to protect myself from Sonny, of all people, but the contracts he’d made me sign , was secretly designed to deprive me of my income and the rights to my own career.”

She ended up calling actor, comedian and producer Lucille Ball, knowing that she had successfully divorced her husband and collaborator Desi Arnaz and bought his stake in their production company, Desilu.

Geffen then helped Cher get her own lawyer—the same one who had helped Ball in her split from Arnaz—who told her she needed to divorce Bono before they could begin to address the subject of her career earnings.

But she wanted to try to appeal to her former partner, so she went to his office and insisted that he tear up the contract and write a new one that would give her an equal share of their earnings.

Bono apparently refused, telling her she didn’t know what she was talking about. “I knew I had to fight for my rights,” Cher said. “I had a daughter to raise and a sister and mother to worry about.

“If you don’t agree to give me half the money and redo the contract, Sonny, I won’t sign another year with CBS. I won’t do anything with you. I can’t work for nothing,” she told him.

Cher went on to star in her own variety show, dear, in 1975. She and Bono unite professionally to create The Sonny and Cher Show, for which she was fairly paid.

“Sonny had his demons,” Cher said of her ex-husband. “There was something inside him that I could never understand, something that took him from being this fabulously funny guy to someone who would take everything from me. For years I racked my brain about how he could have did what he did and I still can’t get over it to this day.”

Bono later left his entertainment career and entered politics, serving as a member of the Republican Party, mayor of Palm Springs, California, and representative of California’s 44th congressional district until his death in a skiing accident in 1998 at the age of 62.

Cher: The Memoir, Part 1 is out now via HarperCollins.