Liza Minnelli lays into Gene Hackman after first anniversary of his death: 'Downright rude!'

Liza Minnelli called out her late costar Gene Hackman one year after his death.

Just weeks after the first anniversary of his passing, the actress, 79, had no qualms addressing his behavior while they were filming Lucky Lady over half a century ago.

She claimed he was 'downright rude' on the set of their comedy-drama film, which was released in 1975. 

In Lucky Lady, Minnelli was in her late 20s and Hackman was 45 when they starred alongside Burt Reynolds in the film with their characters forming a love triangle.

In her new memoir, Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!, she shared stories about fellow Hollywood icons — including her steamy extramarital affair with famed director Martin Scorsese, the late silver screen star Elizabeth Taylor and the late King of Pop Michael Jackson. 

She also made a major revelation in her memoir, opening up about her mother Judy Garland's 'passionate love' affair with 'Uncle' Frank Sinatra while still married to her father Vincente Minnelli.

In her memoir, which hit the shelves on Tuesday, Minnelli recounted friendly encounters with many famous names.

She also shared some less positive anecdotes about other peers, including her late costar.

In her tell-all, she opened up about the lack of chemistry she had with Hackman while they were filming the Stanley Donen-directed flick in the 70s. 

'I don't like to whine, but Stanley later shared publicly that Gene was very dismissive of me during the film,' she wrote in her memoir, per Entertainment Weekly.

'It's hard to go to work when the chemistry is absent,' she continued before adding: 'I think it's fair to say that Gene was downright rude.'  

In Lucky Lady, which ended up being a box office flop, Minnelli starred as a songstress and a widow named Claire.

During the Prohibition era, she gets involved in smuggling alcohol with her lover Walker Ellis (Reynolds) and his friend Kibby Womack (Hackman). 

The trio end up getting entangled in a love triangle and have to simultaneously avoid capture as they break the law all while navigating their relationship conflicts. 

Hackman died at the age of 95 in February 2025 alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, who was 65, in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Arakawa was Hackman's caretaker while he was battling Alzheimer's disease, and in late February of last year, the bodies of the couple were found at their rural home. 

It was later revealed, according to the medical examiner's report, that the Oscar winner died approximately a week after his classically trained pianist wife passed away. 

Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rodent-borne disease, per the Mayo Clinic.

Hackman later died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer's disease. 

Minnelli also shared other stories in her memoir including her extramarital affairs with Peter Sellers and Martin Scorsese — and how she was later snubbed by the latter when they ran into each other at the 2014 Oscars. 

In one chapter, she claimed Lady Gaga 'sabotaged' her dignity at the 2022 Oscars as she expressed her distaste for courting sympathy. 

In her tell-all, she also complained about the late composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim as she recounted how a licensing dispute delayed the release of her album: Live at Carnegie Hall. 

And in addition to opening up about her interesting romantic life in her memoir, she also did not shy away from sharing her honest opinion about her former lovers. 

While reflecting on her 'traumatizing' marriage to her fourth husband David Gest, at one point, she referred to him as a 'loser,' a 'treacherous thief' and even writing: 'I clearly wasn't sober when I married this clown.' 

And as the self-proclaimed 'original nepo baby,' she also opened up about her complicated and chaotic relationship with her mother — sharing revelations about Garland and director dad Vincente Minnelli as their only daughter.

Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! is out now.