LIZA MINNELLI:

What the hell was I thinking?

- BY MARK JEFFERIES

EING one of only a handful of stars to have won an Oscar, Grammy, Emmy and a Tony, no one can question the talent that is Liza Minnelli. But there is one thing she will always query herself... why she married her fourth husband David Gest.

Almost a decade since her ex's death, the actress and singer is not pulling any punches about their disastrous relationship in her new memoir.

The odd couple tied the knot in 2002, with Michael Jackson as best man.

The celeb-filled ceremony, which also featured Diana Ross and Elizabeth Taylor, was almost as bizarre as the relationship itself.

And looking back, Liza says she knew it was not going to work the moment the groom French kissed her oddly for the cameras on their wedding day “like a shark mangling a piece of meat”.

She adds: “That appalling kiss went on forever. I was bent over in his arms, and we looked absurd in a video flashed around the world.

“Actually, David kissed me too soon, before he was supposed to, so I had to endure two long kisses. I was shocked and felt degraded.

“This marriage was over before it even began, for one simple reason. In manhandling me, Gest put on a limp display of masculinity and testosterone. It was grotesque.”

Liza admits she was charmed by him and his claims he could make her a star again and get her out of some financial problems. But she also writes: “What in God’s name was I thinking?”

And recalling their time before splitting, she adds: “Sixteen months may sound like a short time to you. Honey, it felt like sixteen years.

“I was disgusted with him. I felt betrayed, humiliated, ripped off and wounded.