BARBRA Streisand apologised Saturday for saying that two men who accused Michael Jackson of sexually abusing them – as detailed in the documentary Leaving Neverland – were “thrilled” to be with him.
In an interview with The Times of London published Friday, Streisand also showed sympathy for Jackson, saying, “His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has.”
“You can say ‘molested,’ but those children, as you heard say, they were thrilled to be there,” she continued. “They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them.”
She added that she believed the accounts of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the men who claimed in the documentary that Jackson had abused them when they were children.
“I blame, I guess, the parents, who would allow their children to sleep with him,” she said. “Why would Michael need these little children dressed like him and in the shoes and the dancing and the hats?”
Her comments drew widespread criticism on social media. Social media users criticised Streisand’s comments as tone-deaf and said they were tantamount to telling sexual assault survivors to just get over it.
In a statement to The New York Times on Saturday, Streisand said she wanted to make it clear she did not side with Jackson but she reiterated her feelings about the children’s parents.
“The single most important role of being a parent is to protect their children,” she said. “It’s clear that the parents of the two young men were also victimised and seduced by fame and fantasy.”
Streisand issued another statement about three hours later in which she apologised. Referring to the Times of London interview, she said her words “as printed do not reflect my true feelings.”
“I am profoundly sorry for any pain or misunderstanding I caused by not choosing my words more carefully about Michael Jackson and his victims,” she said in the second statement.
“I didn’t mean to dismiss the trauma these boys experienced in any way,” it continued. “Like all survivors of sexual assault, they will have to carry this for the rest of their lives. I feel deep remorse and I hope that James and Wade know that I truly respect and admire them for speaking their truth.”
