Barbara Streisand opens up: "I wasn't pretty enough to be harassed"
Barbara Streisand has revealed she’s never suffered sexual harassment in Hollywood, but has felt abused by the media.
In a wide-ranging interview with director, product and long-time admirer Ryan Murphy, Streisand spoke candidly about her career, the #MeToo movement and her aversion to interviews.
When asked if she had ever been sexually harassed or mistreated, Streisand replied: “Never”.
“I wasn’t like those pretty girls with those nice little noses. Maybe that’s why,” she added.
Of the #MeToo movement sweeping the entertainment industry, she said, “We’re in a strange time now in terms of men and women and the pendulum swinging this way and that way, and it’s going to have to come to the centre.”
She also opened up about her reluctance to speak to the media, which is based on years of what she labelled “inaccurate reporting”.
One particularly persistent story that Streisand labelled as false is that she has an “awards room” at home dedicated to her Oscars, Emmys and other trophies.
She also criticised the late American TV journalist Mike Wallace, recalling how when she was a young star (and before Wallace joined 60 Minutes) he asked her a series of hurtful questions during a TV interview and she had complained to him afterwards.
However, on a subsequent show Wallace told viewers who’d objected to his line questioning of Streisand that she “loved” the interview.
“I thought, I don’t know what date rape is, it’s terrible … but it was such a violation,” she said. “Why lie?”
The interview, which was part of a tribute to Streisand for the 35th annual PaleyFest LA television festival at the Dolby Theatre, ended with Murphy’s own personal tribute to the Funny Girl star.
“People talk about Barbra as the greatest female star. I say, no, that’s not enough,” Murphy said, adding, “She was a touchstone, a beacon I followed my entire life.”