Barbra Streisand Apologizes for Michael Jackson Remarks

Of the molestation, she had said, 'it didn't kill them'
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 24, 2019 5:27 AM CDT
Streisand 'Profoundly Sorry' for Michael Jackson Remarks
In this Dec. 14, 1986, file photo, singers Barbra Streisand and Michael Jackson attend the Scopus Awards of the American Friends of the Hebrew University ceremony in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Mark Avery, File)

Barbra Streisand has backtracked quickly from her assertion that boys molested by Michael Jackson were "thrilled" to be there. "I am profoundly sorry for any pain or misunderstanding I caused by not choosing my words more carefully," she said in a Saturday statement, per TMZ. "I didn’t mean to dismiss the trauma these boys experienced in any way." Referring to the two Jackson accusers in a new documentary, she added, "I feel deep remorse and I hope that James and Wade know that I truly respect and admire them for speaking their truth." The apology follows an interview with the Times of London that drew widespread condemnation. In the interview, Streisand said she believed that the molestation happened, but then added some qualifiers.

“You can say ‘molested,’ but those children, as you heard say, they were thrilled to be there,” she told the newspaper. “They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them.” As for Jackson: “His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has.” Instead of blaming him, she blamed the parents of the boys for allowing the sleepovers and the close ties to Jackson. “Why would Michael need these little children dressed like him and in the shoes and the dancing and the hats?” As the AP notes, the documentary's director, Dan Reed, was among those to criticize the "didn't kill them" remark, asking, "did you really say that?!" in a tweet.)

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