One would think in the wake of the “Me Too” movement and the downfall of actor Kevin Spacey that the Hollywood elite who helped give short shrift to due process would know better than to dismiss sexual assault victims. But apparently not or else Barbra Streisand wouldn’t be trying to clarify statements she made dismissing Michael Jackson‘s alleged sexual abuse against at least two children.
The documentary “Finding Neverland” shocked viewers of the two-part series as two of Jackson’s child victims, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, went into explicit details of what the King of Pop did to them as children.
In a recent interview, Streisand dismissed Jackson‘s alleged molestation of his victims and even excused his behavior as just his “needs.”
“His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has,” Streisand, 76, said.
Babs makes it worse.
“You can say ‘molested’,” Streisand continued, “but those children, as you heard, say, they were thrilled to be there. They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them.”
It should be noted that regardless of whether or not Michael Jackson molested children, dismissing abuse of any kind if it didn’t kill the victim is wrong and heartless.
Thankfully, Streisand’s comments didn’t go unnoticed by fans who immediately spoke out against the singer.
“Oh god no. This is horrible. I feel sick. @BarbraStreisand is my idol and I look up to her so much. This breaks my heart that she would say this. Because this is such a wrong and hurtful thing to say. Ugh.”
Another argued Streisand’s comment is simply false:
“Barbara [sic] Streisand’s take on survivors of child sexual abuse: ‘It didn’t kill them.’ Survivors of sexual abuse have higher rates of suicide, eating disorders, drug addiction, repeat victimization later in life, etc. Child sexual abuse literally does kill people.”
“Finding Neverland” director also tweeted his outrage, “‘It didn’t kill them’ @BarbraStreisand did you really say that?!”
Yes, she really did.
Streisand offers the lamest of apologies.
The outrage was enough to draw an apology for offending anyone from Barbra Streisand on Instagram, but not enough for her to condemn Michael Jackson.
“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 statement reads. “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.”
Amazingly, now the parents are to blame and Michael Jackson is completely left out of any criticism for putting Robson and Safechuck through the trauma they say they went through at the hands of Jackson. It’s truly unbelievable.
More About:TV Shows