Cher recalls Kaavan's rescue and singing the elephant's favourite song to him

Cher is a music icon and has been in the industry for decades but Pakistan knows for her something else — her animal rights activism. She played a major role in transporting Kaavan — dubbed the world's loneliest elephant — from Islamabad to his new home in Cambodia.

Speaking about her involvement in Kaavan's rescue, she said she learnt about the elephant's plight from her fans, who's ruckus commanded her attention. “Very rarely do I help people on Twitter because I can’t help them all,’” she told Variety in a podcast. "[But] it was them, and they wanted it so badly,” she said.

“I kept saying, ‘I’m just an entertainer. What did they expect me to do?’”

She reached out to Mark Cowne, rockstar Bob Geldof’s former manager, who helps transport elephants to Africa. They joined forces and formed the rescue group Free the Wild.

In the documentary on Kaavan's rescue, Cher & the Loneliest Elephant, the Grammy winning singer is seen singing 'My Way' to Kaavan after Dr Amir Khalil, the vet who lead Kaavan's move, and told her it was his favourite song.

“It was terrible because Dr Amir is terrible [at singing] and I hadn’t been singing since Covid,” Cher recalled, laughing, “He gets me off key, and I thought, ‘Cher, you’re either doing this for this animal or doing it to be cool.’ So I guess the cool didn’t win.”

She also spoke about being busy with the development of her biopic under Universal Pictures and her memoir.

“I know the people so I’m sure they’ll…listen to things I have to say. But it doesn’t mean I’m going to get the final cut,” she said.

Cher is looking favourably upon a newcomer to play her in the biopic, though the casting hasn't begun yet. “We were talking about it yesterday, and we’re just trying to think of [actors],” she revealed. “I said, ‘I don’t think we know her yet'.”

She revealed she is expected to return to music by February with a tour though she didn't really miss touring. Spending time at home and away from the spotlights is really up her alley. “I can be lazy. I’m a Taurus,” she said. “I can kind of lay like Ferdinand and sit under the tree.”

Earlier this month, Cher teased a collaboration with 'My Type' rapper Saweetie. "Girls are going to lose it," she said.

Reluctant to reveal much, she just said “She’s a sweet girl.” “I don’t know how she is with everybody else, but she and I had the best time together. And the thing that we did is going to be big.”