Singer and actor Barbra Streisand, 76, has made bizarre statements about the harm suffered by alleged sexual assault victims of Michael Jackson, in an interview published on Friday. Jackson is pictured in 2002
Barbra Streisand has been forced to respond to her comments on Michael Jackson’s accusers after she said the alleged sexual abuse victims ‘wanted to be there’ as children.
The 76-year-old singer and actor sparked an angry backlash Saturday after saying Jackson’s ‘sexual needs were his sexual needs’ in a bizarre interview.
And she was later forced to defend her words after her comments caused outrage around the world.
The singer said she ‘feels nothing but sympathy for the men’ but still heaped blame on the boys’ parents for allowing themselves to be ‘seduced by fame and fantasy’.
In a statement to The Washington Post Streisand she said: ‘To be crystal clear, there is no situation or circumstance where it is OK for the innocence of children to be taken advantage of by anyone.
‘The stories these two young men shared were painful to hear, and I feel nothing but sympathy for them.’
But she continued to lay blame with the two men’s parents adding: ‘The single most important role of being a parent is to protect their children. It’s clear that the parents of the two young men were also victimized and seduced by fame and fantasy.’
Streisand had told British newspaper The Times of London that the two main subjects of documentary ‘Leaving Neverland,’ now-adults Wade Robson and James Safechuck, ‘were thrilled to be there’ as children and whatever happened to them ‘didn’t kill them’.
The recently released ‘Leaving Neverland’ documentary is about how Robson and Safechuck, now in their 30s, say Jackson, who died at age 50 in 2009, sexually abused them from the ages of seven and 10, respectively.
Streisand said she believes the victims’ claims, but felt bad for both them and Jackson, adding that Jackson’s ‘sexual needs were his sexual needs’ and the blame should lie with the boys’ parents.
‘I feel bad for the children,’ she said, of Robson and Safechuck. ‘I feel bad for him. I blame, I guess, the parents, who would allow their children to sleep with him. Why would Michael need these little children dressed like him and in the shoes and the dancing and the hats?’
Barbra Streisand, 76, told British newspaper The Times that the two main subjects of documentary ‘Leaving Neverland,’ adults Wade Robson and James Safechuck, ‘were thrilled to be there’ as children and whatever happened to them ‘didn’t kill them’
The director and producer of that film, British filmmaker Dan Reed, joined many in being appalled at Streisand’s remarks
Streisand said she believed the claims by now-adults Wade Robson and James Safechuck in the documentary ‘Leaving Neverland’ but that Jackson’s ‘sexual needs were his sexual needs’ In this January 24, file photo, Robson (left), Reed (center) and Safechuck (right) pose during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah where the documentary was released
The director and producer of that film, British filmmaker Dan Reed, joined many in being appalled at Streisand’s remarks.
‘”It didn’t kill them” @BarbraStreisand did you really say that?!’ Reed tweeted on Friday.
He added: ‘Is pedophilia tolerated in parts of the entertainment industry?’
Others labelled the Grammy and Oscar winner a ‘sick woman’ and said her comments were ‘unbelievably repulsive’.
One said: ‘If there’s one person who could upstage Mueller, it’s Barbra Streisand, but I didn’t think it would be by defending a pedophile.’
Streisand apparently did say ‘it didn’t kill them’, and much more about Jackson, who she crossed paths with throughout their careers, and his accusers.
‘You can say “molested,” but those children, as you heard [grown-up Robson and Safechuck] say, they were thrilled to be there. They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them,’ she said.
‘His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has.’
In an interview that covered a wide range of topics including cloning her dogs, her tendency to stay up until 4am and upcoming concerts in the United Kingdom, she also expressed how she felt sorry for both the boys and Jackson, who died after going into cardiac arrest from ingesting a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs.
Michael Jackson and the Robson family, (left to right) Joy Robson, Wade Robson, Michael Jackson, Chantal Robson, Dennis Robson
Stephanie Safechuck, the mother of accuser James Safechuck, pictured with Jackson
‘I feel bad for the children,’ Streisand said, of Robson and Safechuck. ‘I feel bad for him. I blame, I guess, the parents, who would allow their children to sleep with him.’ Jackson is pictured with James Safechuck at age 10
‘Why would Michael need these little children dressed like him and in the shoes and the dancing and the hats?’ Streisand said. Robson (right) and Jackson (left) are pictured posed together with Robson dressed up like Jackson
Many people were shocked at the comments, some of whom felt ill over the news, said they would burn her albums and called for Streisand to be ‘canceled’
A Twitter user with the handle ‘@tialyn636’ didn’t mince words, writing, ‘Well, Barbra Streisand can f**k all the way off’
Reed was shocked at the comments, as were many other people, some of whom felt ill over the news, said they would burn her albums and called for Streisand to be ‘canceled.’
‘I am sick to my stomach,’ tweeted New York Magazine and HuffPost writer Yashar Ali.
Another Twitter user with the handle ‘@tialyn636’ didn’t mince words, writing, ‘Well, Barbra Streisand can f**k all the way off.’
Streisand said of moms Stephanie Safechuck, left, and Joy Robson, right, that ‘it’s clear that the parents of the two young men were also victimized and seduced by fame and fantasy’
Streisand and Jackson are pictured together in Los Angeles on December 14, 1986
Attorney and founder of the Gaia Project for Women’s Leadership Elizabeth C McLaughlin tweeted on Friday, ‘Barbra Streisand is cancelled. Forever. Dunzo.’
Even people who had previously been exhausted by the internet’s tendency to ‘cancel’ individuals at the drop of a hat agreed, like one user identified as ‘Emma’ on the platform.
‘I’ve changed my mind about cancel culture just so Barbra Streisand the pedo apologist can be cancelled. Jfc,’ Emma wrote.
A reply to that post included a gif of red, flashing ‘canceled’ stamp over Streisand’s face, in a photo from the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.
The Daily Caller reporter Chuck Ross wrote, ‘brb burning all my Barbra Streisand vinyls.’
Streisand was forced to comment publicly about her statements in the interview published on Friday. Streisand is pictured at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017 in Manhattan