Barbra Streisand has apologised after facing a backlash for comments she made about the two men who claim to have been sexually abused by Michael Jackson as children.
The singer was criticised after saying James Safechuck and Wade Robson were “thrilled” to be at Jackson’s Neverland ranch and what happened to them “didn’t kill them” in an interview with The Times published on Friday.
Barbara has now issued a statement through her representatives to backtrack on her remarks.
“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.
“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 victimised and seduced by fame and fantasy.”
Barbara also said she was “profoundly sorry” for the pain her comments might have caused in a further post on Instagram.
“I am profoundly sorry for any pain or misunderstanding I caused by not choosing my words more carefully about Michael Jackson and his victims, because the words printed do not reflect my true feelings,” she wrote. “I didn’t mean to dismiss the trauma these boys experienced in any way.
“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.”
In the Times’ interview, Barbara said she believes the allegations made by James Safechuck and Wade Robson, who appeared in the documentary Leaving Neverland, but questioned why their parents allowed them to sleep at the singer’s home.
She said: “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 (the 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.”
The documentary’s director Dan Reed suggested her comments showed child abuse was “tolerated” by the film and television industry.
Posting on Twitter, Reed asked: “Is pedophilia tolerated in parts of the entertainment industry?”
The film, which was shown on Channel 4 earlier this month, was met by a furious reaction by the Jackson estate, which denied the allegations and lambasted the documentary as “an outrageous and pathetic attempt to exploit and cash in” on Jackson.
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