Barbra Streisand caused a firestorm this weekend when she commented about the Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland. While she said she “absolutely” believed Jackson’s two accusers, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, she then seemed to make light of the effect the abuse had on them.
“His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has,” she told the London Sunday Times. “You can say ‘molested,’ but those children, as you heard them say, they were thrilled to be there. They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them.”
She also seemed to put some of the blame on the kids’ parents. When asked if she was angry with Jackson, she said, “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 shows and the dancing and the hats?”
The comments caused a huge uproar on social media, and Streisand was quick to clarify and apologize.
“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,” she said in a statement. “The stories these two young men shared were painful to hear, and I feel nothing but sympathy for them. 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.”
She also apologized again on her Instagram yesterday.