Sarcastically noting that answering questions is “my favorite thing to do,” Cher answered a few from the press backstage at the 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday (Oct. 19).

After taking the Rock Hall to task during her speech for waiting 35 years to induct her after she became eligible, Cher acknowledges that, “I have a kind love hate relationship [with the Rock Hall], because I thought, ‘What do I have to f–king do , y’know, to be inducted into this place? What do you have to do to be a part of it?’”

Though tempted to tell David Geffen, who she said wrote a letter to the Hall of Fame Foundation on her behalf, to “please take it back,” Cher said that in the end she was happy with the way things turned out. “I felt good. I can say that I’m happy that I’m in,” she says. “If I didn’t [think] it, I wouldn’t be here.”

Reflecting on a 60-year career dating back to work with her late ex-husband Sonny Bono and sessions with Phil Spector’s Wrecking Crew, the singer said that she struggles with thoughts of legacy. “I [didn’t] have perspective, exactly — I just was busy living my life, so I wasn’t like thinking about it at all,” she says. “I was thinking about it from minute to minute, thing to thing. I thought of myself as a bumper car and when I hit a road I would just back up and turn in a different direction, because I wasn’t going to stop doing what I loved.”

And what about Sonny & Cher making it to the Rock Hall one day? “I think that we deserve it, ” Cher tells Billboard. “Even if we weren’t exactly rock ‘n roll, we represented music. I know it’s not like … we were corny, but we were very avant garde for what was happening at the time, so, I don’t know. I didn’t expect to get in. I just thought, ‘They’re never gonna let you in, b–ch.’”

During her speech, Cher made sure to send a message to all of the women watching around the world: “The one thing I have never done, is I never give up,” she explained. “And I am talking to the women, okay … we have been down and out, but we keep striving, and we keep going and we are somebody. We are special.”

With her induction into the annals of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night (Oct. 19), Cher made sure to set expectations early on: “This speech is gonna be such a crapshoot — I wrote it the other day, and then I rewrote it tonight, and I’m dyslexic,” she declared.

A crapshoot it was not — across her presentation at the annual ceremony, Cher stunned the crowd at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with renditions of “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Believe” — the latter featuring special guest Dua Lipa — before cedeing the stage to Zendaya, who introduced her idol with aplomb. “Where do I even begin?” the actress said, dressed in an outfit inspired by one of Cher’s many Bob Mackie looks. “There is not one person in this room, in this country, and pretty much in this world who doesn’t know the name of the artist I am here to honor tonight. She’s so iconic, she only needs one name.”

In a video tribute, stars appeared to pay tribute to Cher, including Cyndi Lauper, Shania Twain and P!nk, with the latter making it abundantly clear that the mononymous singer was a “f–king rockstar.”

But once into her speech, Cher made it clear that her induction was never guaranteed: “It was easier getting divorced from two men than it was getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” she cracked. “I want to thank my guardian David Geffen, because he wrote a letter and sent it to the directors, and now, ha ha, here I am!”

While the singer made sure to occasionally make fun of herself (“I’m a good singer, not a great singer,” she cracked), she didn’t shy away from acknowledging her impact throughout her decades-spanning career. In one particular highlight, the star looked back on how her biggest songs nearly didn’t happen.

“[With] ‘Believe,’ I changed the sound of music forever, and it was an accident. My producer and I were having a fight, with my producer saying, ‘Cher, do it better,’” she recalled. “I said, ‘Dude, if you want it better, get a different singer.’ He called me later and said, ‘Cher, I’ve been playing around with the pitch machine, and I think I’ve got something.’ I went back and listened to it, and when it was over, we both jumped up and high-fived each other. And then the head of my record company said ‘we can’t do that because no one will know it was you.’ And I said, ‘Yes, that’s the deal! That’s the great part!’”

Cher also recalled the advice that she had been given by her mother from a young age that guided her career to where it is today. “She said to me, ‘You might not be the prettiest, you might not be the smartest, you might not be the most talented, but you’re special,’” she said. “She kept instilling it into me: ‘If you’re down and you’re out, you get up again.’”

Smiling at the crowd, Cher made sure that the women in the audience had heard her. “The one thing I have never done, is I never give up. And I am talking to the women, okay — you guys are on your own,” she offered with a smirk. “We have been down and out, but we keep striving, and we keep going and we are somebody. We are special, as my mother would say.”

Cher was just one of the icons honored at Saturday night’s event — fellow inductees included Mary J. Blige, Ozzy Osbourne, Kool & the Gang, A Tribe Called Quest, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner and Peter Frampton.

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If you’re a parent, or know anyone with kids, then you’re probably familiar with the magic of Ms. Rachel. The YouTube content creator, who recently joined John Legend for a kid-friendly sing-along, took to Instagram on Friday (Oct. 19) to address issues over her bestselling Ms. Rachel doll.

The doll is No. 1 on Amazon, and so popular that fakes have been popping up online and duping shoppers. Ms. Rachel faced the drama in a video where she went over the difference between her doll and the knockoff.

“I’m so sorry that this is happening,” she said of the fake dolls. “I want to make sure that you got a real one, so let’s go over how to tell. This is so important to me because we don’t know if the fake dolls are safe or not,” Ms. Rachel continues before explaining the features of her doll versus the fake.    

Released by Spin Master, the authentic Ms. Rachel doll is an interactive, touch-activated toy that sings four songs: “Wheels on the Bus,” “Hop Little Bunny,” “I’m So Happy” and “Icky Sticky.” The doll also says more than 16 signature phrases, including “Can you say…?” and “I’m so proud of you!”

Ms. Rachel Speak & Sing Doll, 16” Tall Interactive Toy with 4 Songs & 16+ Phrases

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The Ms. Rachel Speak & Sing Doll ($29.99) is designed for ages six months to 3 years old, and aids in conversation and cognitive development. Ms. Rachel designed the doll along with child development experts. According to multiple TikTok videos, fake Ms. Rachel dolls were apparently being sold online through third parties that uploaded them to Walmart and Amazon.

Luckily, Ms. Rachel has an official Amazon store where parents can shop the her doll and other toys and books, such as her latest bestseller, Ms. Rachel and the Special Surprise.

The official Ms. Rachel doll is available at Amazon, Walmart and Target.

For more child-centered content, check out Billboard Family.