Cher: 'Rumor' I Hired Men to Abduct My Son Isn't True

UPDATE Oct 11, 2023 3:00 PM CDT

Cher has commented briefly on the allegation that she hired men about a year ago to abduct her son from a New York hotel room where he was allegedly reconciling with his then-estranged wife, telling People, "that rumor is not true." She did not elaborate on the allegation regarding Elijah Blue Allman, but she did reference his long-running addiction struggles. "I'm not suffering from any problem that millions of people in the United States aren't. I'm a mother. This is my job—one way or another, to try to help my children. You do anything for your children. Whenever you can help them, you just do it because that's what being a mother is. But it's joy, even with heartache."

Sep 27, 2023 4:31 PM CDT

Newly revealed court documents allege Cher got deeply involved in her son's marital woes—by hiring four men to abduct her son from a New York hotel room where he was allegedly reconciling with his then-estranged wife. Rolling Stone has the timeline via those documents: Elijah Blue Allman, whose father was Gregg Allman, filed to divorce Marie Angela King in 2021. In late November 2022, the pair allegedly reconnected for a 12-day period, but on their Nov. 30 wedding anniversary, Allman was taken.

In a declaration signed Dec. 4, 2022, that was just now released, King writes she was "told by one of the four men who took him that they were hired by petitioner's mother" and that she is "currently unaware of my husband's wellbeing or whereabouts." Yahoo reports Allman has publicly shared that he began using drugs at 11 and has struggled with heroin addiction. In what is perhaps a nod to that, King wrote, "I understand his family's efforts to make sure he is well, and I want what is best for my husband."

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Her declaration touches on financial issues, alleging that Cher asked her to leave their home, and "I did so on the belief that my [spousal] support payments would be timely, and I would be able to afford housing." Those payments have turned out to be "sporadic" and "insufficient," she claims. "I had lost both my housing and health care and had to leave the country to stay with relatives for a while. Inconsistent support payments have made progressing my case very difficult if not impossible," she stated. The couple next have an Oct. 27 court date. There's no word from Cher on the allegation. (More Cher stories.)