SZA’s big Grammys night briefly turned into a viral confusion when Cher, presenting Record of the Year, appeared to credit the win to the late Luther Vandross instead of the actual track title. Within hours, the clip was everywhere, framed as a generational fumble. SZA’s response, though, was the opposite of outrage, as she publicly backed Cher, called her a legend, and folded the whole thing into a larger tribute to Luther Vandross and to her own collaboration with Kendrick Lamar.
Rather than letting the moment become another stan-war talking point, SZA leaned into grace, humor, and reverence for the artists who came before her. Her reaction turned what could have been an awkward awards-show blooper into a reminder of how Black music history, from Luther Vandross to Kendrick Lamar, runs straight through the Grammys stage she stood on.
The viral Grammys slip that launched a thousand rewinds
The setup was classic awards-show tension: Cher walked out to present Record of the Year, the category that ultimately went to Kendrick Lamar featuring SZA for their song “Luther.” Onstage, she stumbled through the moment, at one point invoking Luther Vandross in a way that made it sound like he, not Kendrick Lamar and SZA, had just won the trophy, which sent social media into instant replay mode as viewers tried to parse exactly what she meant. Coverage of the night made clear that Kendrick Lamar featuring SZA won Record of the Year for their song “Luther,” even as Cher’s wording briefly muddied the waters for anyone hearing it live for the first time.
In the clip that ricocheted across timelines, Cher’s lighthearted confusion came off like she was mixing up the song “Luther” with Luther Vandross himself, a slip that fit neatly into the internet’s favorite narrative of older legends misreading the current moment. Reports on how Cher “fumbles” the appearance noted that she joked her way through the segment and then exited quickly after announcing that Kendrick Lamar, featuring SZA, had taken Record of the Year for their track “Luther”.
SZA’s calm, classy response: ‘A legend was speaking’
Once the memes started flying, the focus shifted to how SZA would react, especially given that this was one of the biggest wins of her career. Instead of irritation, she offered perspective, telling interviewers that she did not mind Cher’s mix-up and that she saw it as a moment of respect for Luther Vandross rather than a slight to her or Kendrick Lamar. In one conversation, she framed the whole thing as a legend onstage doing what legends do, and she made it clear that she was not interested in turning Cher into the butt of the joke.
On camera, SZA described the viral moment as one where “a legend was speaking,” a line that quickly became the shorthand for her stance on the incident. She emphasized that Cher is Cher, and that having someone of that stature attached to her win is hardly an insult, even if the wording came out sideways. In a video interview, SZA reacts to the Luther Vandross confusion and explicitly refers to the viral moment as one where legend was speaking”, underlining that she sees Cher’s presence as an honor, not a problem.
‘She’s not wrong’: honoring Luther Vandross in the win
SZA went a step further than just defending Cher’s intentions, saying flat out that “she’s not wrong” to bring Luther Vandross into the moment. The song “Luther,” recorded with Kendrick Lamar, is itself a nod to the late singer, and SZA has been open about how deeply his work informs the track’s mood and message. In her post-show comments, she framed the win as something that belongs to Luther Vandross as much as to the artists whose names are on the trophy, which is why Cher’s slip felt spiritually accurate to her.
In one interview, SZA, who is described as the 36-year-old artist, explained that “we share the frequency of the song,” adding that this “frequency” is Luther Vandross’s and that it allowed them to win and allowed the song to exist in the first place. Elsewhere, she broke her silence on the mix-up and reiterated that there were no hard feelings, stressing that Cher’s mention of Luther Vandross, who died in 2005 at age 54, fit the emotional truth of a record built around his legacy, as she noted when she addressed the moment and the fact that Luther Vandross is no longer here to see it.
How SZA reframed the moment around collaboration and legacy
What really stands out in SZA’s reaction is how quickly she pivoted from a potential embarrassment to a conversation about collaboration and lineage. She repeatedly highlighted Kendrick Lamar’s role, thanking him for lifting her up and for building a record that could carry Luther Vandross’s name in a way that felt earned. Her acceptance speech and later comments both underscored that this was not just her win, but a shared victory that stretched from the studio to the stage and back through decades of R&B history.
Coverage of the night pointed out that SZA thanked Lamar “for lifting me up” and for making space for her on a track that carries so much weight, a detail that came through clearly in breakdowns of SZA’s speech. In a separate interview, she expanded on that idea, saying that she and Kendrick Lamar “share the frequency of the song,” language that ties directly back to her belief that Luther Vandross’s spirit is embedded in the record. That framing turns Cher’s onstage confusion into just one small beat in a much bigger story about how artists like SZA and Kendrick Lamar are intentionally channeling the work of icons like Luther Vandross into new music.
Why SZA’s defense of Cher resonated with fans
Part of why SZA’s response landed so strongly online is that it cut against the usual outrage cycle. Instead of letting fans pit her against Cher, she made it clear that she sees the older star as an ally and an icon, and that she is more interested in celebrating Luther Vandross than in nitpicking a flubbed line. Her comments framed the Grammys moment as a kind of multigenerational handoff, with Cher, Luther Vandross, Kendrick Lamar, and SZA all sharing space in the same cultural snapshot.
In one widely shared clip, SZA reacts to the mix-up and stresses that she did not mind Cher’s “luther” moment, a stance echoed in coverage that quoted her saying “she’s not wrong” and emphasizing that she understood what Cher was trying to do. Reports on how SZA did not mind Cher’s “luther” mix-up noted that she framed the incident as a moment of respect, not disrespect, and that she was quick to remind people that Luther Vandross is a towering figure who recorded classic albums and won eight Grammy Awards, a point highlighted in coverage of how Sunday night at turned into a Luther appreciation thread.
More from Vinyl and Velvet:
Leave a Reply