Singer Barbra Streisand claimed in new comments that the men who accused singer Michael Jackson of sexual assault were “thrilled” to be with the singer as boys.
Reacting to “Leaving Neverland,” a documentary that focused on the accusations by Wade Robson and James Safechuck, Streisand said the pair were “thrilled to be there” and added that what was said to happen “didn’t kill them.”
Streisand, 76, made the comments during an interview with the British newspaper The Times.
The singer seemed to defend Jackson, who was widely accused of preying on minors, by saying his “sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has.”
As she announces her UK concerts, @BarbraStreisand talks from her Malibu boudoir about stage fright and how Brexit has made her poorer. https://t.co/qcK4s3ejZg
— The Times of London (@thetimes) March 22, 2019
Streisand said that she believed Robson and Safechuck’s allegations but placed most of the blame on the parents.
“You can say ‘molested,’ but those children, as you heard say [grown-up Robson and Safechuck], they were thrilled to be there. They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them,” Streisand said.
“I feel bad for the children. 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?”
About Jackson, she later said: “He was very sweet, very childlike.”
“It didn’t kill them” @BarbraStreisand did you really say that?!#LeavingNerverland https://t.co/p4sIaPIHK6
— Dan Reed (@danreed1000) March 22, 2019
Streisand’s comments sparked outrage and shock, including from Dan Reed, the director of “Leaving Neverland.”
“‘It didn’t kill them’ Barbra Streisand did you really say that?!” Reed said via Twitter.
The allegations have divided Jackson fans and critics, and Jackson’s estate has denied the accusations.
Oprah tackled the issue after the documentary aired on HBO earlier this year, featuring Robson and Safechuck in a special episode.
Oprah said the documentary raised an important issue and that she encourages discussion about sexual abuse.
“In 25 years of ‘The Oprah Show,’ I taped 217 episodes on sexual abuse,” Oprah said. “I tried and tried and tried to get the message across to people that sexual abuse was not just abuse, it was also sexual seduction. But, for me, this moment transcends Michael Jackson. It is much bigger than any one person.”
She said abuse is “like a scourge on humanity.”
Neither alleged victim has commented on Streisand’s comments but Robson recently addressed whether he thinks Jackson’s music should be pulled from radio stations.
“That’s not really my concern, that’s everybody’s individual journey. If I have any hope it would be that we question, in general, who it is we are worshipping and why, so it’s beyond Michael,” Robson told TMZ.
“I don’t have any moral authority to make a judgement for everyone else on that. I don’t listen to his music because I have a personal experience with it, but that’s everyone’s individual choice.”
