Cher reflects on romance, friendship with Val Kilmer: 'He's like nobody I've ever known'

An excerpt:

"Our sense of humor, and what we would put up with from one another, was more than I think I've ever had with any other guy. He would just go off and do his own thing and you just had to be prepared. And he was so beautiful. It went from madly in love and laughing hysterically to respecting each other's ability. "He was at my house a lot of the time he was sick. He was brave the whole time. I saw how sick he was. Once when the paramedics showed up after he was so sick and coughing up blood, he looked at me and I looked at him and we both knew what we were thinking. Because those guys are so handsome.  When one of those paramedics comes to your house, you just know you're going to see somebody who's really cute. "I told him I saw the documentary (Val). I said, 'Sid, it's you.'  He is so creative like nobody I've ever known and how brave he was to do it in the way that he did it.  He's an artist. He can be a brat too but you forgive him. You forgive him everything. Even when I was angry, it was still a joy.  If he called, it wouldn't matter where I was, I would go.  "I loved him—and I love him.  I [just wrote to him], I said, 'Valus Maximus, I'm sorry if I did anything to piss you off or hurt your feelings. I love you and your documentary was all things... I love the things that pissed me off, the things that made me hysterical, amazed, hurt, astonished, etc. You are brave and beyond brilliant. Ethel.'"

In November 2016, Kilmer wrote to Facebook that he had "no cancer whatsoever" in response to a comment made by Michael Douglas. Kilmer publicly admitted his throat cancer in April 2017, though it was originally diagnosed in 2015.

Val, which received a standing ovation at Cannes earlier this summer, is narrated by Kilmer's 26-year-old son, Jack, while his 29-year-old daughter, Mercedes, is listed among its producers. Ting Poo and Leo Scott served as directors.