With 150 million records sold, 11 Billboard chart-topping albums and 46 Grammy nominations
to her name, Barbra Streisand certainly fits the mold of a star, but what lurks behind
all of the glamour?
Let's look at eight times Barbra Streisand embraced her mean girl side.
Barbra Streisand has never been one to suffer fools gladly, as several movie directors have
found out to their cost.
The EGOT winner has clashed with a whole host of filmmakers over the years, most notably
in 1976's A Star is Born with Frank Pierson.
More than four decades after she starred opposite Kris Kristofferson in the second remake of
the musical drama, Streisand still hadn't let her frustrations go.
Speaking at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017, the star recalled her experiences of working
with Pierson on the movie, saying,
"That was tough because I was blackmailed into hiring the director.
I hired him to write and he said he wouldn't do it unless he directed.
I had final cut rights.
I told him he could have all the credit, but that he had to allow my vision to be there.
He would agree, but then I'd show up and the cameras would be in [the wrong places]."
Streisand seemed to enjoy working with William Wyler a lot more on Funny Girl, eight years
earlier, perhaps due to the fact she was allowed to take more creative control.
But the perfectionist still couldn't resist getting a dig in at the director with her
wrap party gift: an 18th-century watch bearing the inscription "To make up for lost time."
According to his authorized biography, Wyler had taken several days off from the shoot
for personal reasons.
According to biographer James Spada, Barbra Streisand once sank her teeth into a co-star's
neck while performing on Broadway.
And it wasn't in an adaptation of Dracula, either.
The actor was appearing alongside Sydney Chaplin in a production of Funny Girl, when she decided
to get a little vampiric.
But there was a method to her madness.
"Oh, very good.
Wasn't it?
It was terrific, I loved it."
The pair had previously embarked on an extramarital affair, but when Streisand decided to call
it quits, Chaplin apparently started playing the vengeful ex.
In Streisand: Her Life, Spada claims that the actor constantly attempted to rile the
leading lady while on stage.
Referring to one of her most notable features, he'd even whisper the word "nose" into her
ear while she was belting out the show's big ballads.
After the actors union failed to act on her complaints, Streisand took matters into her
own hands.
As the curtain dropped on their characters getting intimate on a chaise lounge during
one particular show, Chaplin once again resorted to his most-used insult.
This time around, however, Streisand reacted by biting his neck.
And in a case of karma, her stunned tormenter was also concussed after hitting his head
on the curtain's metal bar.
Barbra Streisand certainly didn't do herself any favors with her response to the allegations
made by James Safechuck and Wade Robson in the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland.
While the chart-topper told The Times in 2019 that she believes their accusations, she also
admitted to feeling sorry for Michael Jackson.
Streisand said,
"His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever
DNA he has."
The singer, who once declined the King of Pop's invite to duet on "I Just Can't Stop
Loving You", also appeared to undermine the seriousness of Safechuck and Robson's trauma,
revealing,
"You can say 'molested,' 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 ... I feel bad for
the children.
I feel bad for him.
I blame, I guess, the parents, who would allow their children to sleep with him."
After suffering an understandable backlash, Streisand offered two apologies for her comments.
She first reiterated to the Associated Press that she felt, quote: "nothing but sympathy"
for the victims.
Then on her own website, she insisted she didn't mean to trivialize their experiences,
saying,
"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."
If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp
National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat
services.
Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross may have been singing from the same hymn sheet when it came
to the damaging allegations made against Michael Jackson in the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland.
They were two of the few stars outside the King of Pop's family who spoke in his defense.
But the iconic pair certainly weren't as harmonious back in the swinging Sixties.
According to J. Randy Taraborrelli's Ross biography, the Motown legend actually once
idolized her fellow diva.
Marvin Gaye is even quoted in the book as saying,
"Diana's always measured herself against Barbra Streisand."
She may therefore have been thrilled when producer Berry Gordy had The Supremes record
their own version of the Funny Girl soundtrack ahead of its big-screen adaptation.
The original performer, however, wasn't as enthused.
In Ed Ifkovic's Diana's Dogs: Diana Ross and the Definition of a Diva, Streisand is reported
to have said,
"I just don't like the idea of her [Ross] singing my songs and with my musical arranger.
Who the hell does she think she is?
The world doesn't need another Streisand!"
And the rest of the world appeared to agree.
"Diana Ross and the Supremes Sing and Perform Funny Girl" peaked at a lowly number 150 in
1968, the lowest-charting of the classic line-up's albums.
Barbra Streisand has been a fixture of the entertainment world ever since she made her
TV debut on The Tonight Show way back in 1961.
So there's really no excuse for anyone still mispronouncing her name.
And the Golden Globe winner certainly didn't let Michael Usher of Aussie news show 60 Minutes
get away with such a faux pas in 2016.
After being introduced incorrectly, a frustrated Streisand took the interviewer to task, asking
him,
"What's my name?
... You said it with a 'z,' you had a double whammy."
Usher then made sure he pronounced the second 's' in her surname in a softer manner before
Streisand sarcastically responded,
"That's it, he's got it!
My gosh, he's got it!"
"Streisand."
"That's it."
"Streisand."
"Equally.
Streisand.
Not Strei-SAND."
"Streisand.
Streisand."
Usher can perhaps take solace in the fact that even Apple's all-knowing virtual assistant
Siri also made the same mistake.
That same year, the star told NPR,
"She pronounces my name wrong.
It's Streisand with a soft 's' like sand on the beach.
I've been saying this my whole career."
Proving that even billionaire tech giants will quite easily bow down to the Broadway
legend, Apple boss Tim Cook quickly ensured that Siri's mispronunciation was corrected
in the following update following a phone call with her.
"Who are you?”
“I am a humble personal assistant."
There certainly wasn't any love lost between Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau on the
set of Hello, Dolly.
The two leads, who played matchmaking widow Dolly Levi and her miserly love interest Horace
Vandergelder, respectively, were reportedly at odds throughout the filming of the 1969
big-screen musical.
Matthau appeared to take particular offense with how his co-star tried to undermine director
Gene Kelly.
According to Roadshow!
The Fall of Film Musicals writer Matthew Kennedy, things came to a head the sweltering hot day
after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy when the actor told Streisand,
"Stop directing the f---ing picture."
And things never recovered from that point.
In fact, Matthau later said,
"[Streisand is a] pip-squeak who didn't have the talent of a butterfly's fart."
Of course, the assertive Streisand wasn't going to take such an insult lying down.
In retaliation, she told Matthau that the reason for his disdain was that he envied
her considerably greater talent.
Surprisingly, the pair must have patched their differences up at some point as in 1986, Matthau
was spotted in the audience of Streisand's benefit show One Voice.
One of Barbra Streisand's longest-running feuds was with the late playwright and LGBT
activist Larry Kramer.
Back in the 1980s, the actor bagged the film rights to his acclaimed stage play about the
early stages of the AIDS epidemic, The Normal Heart.
But despite several attempts, the project never got off the ground — and both parties
blamed each other for its failings.
In 2011, Kramer told Entertainment Weekly that he had objected to Streisand's apparent
plans to make herself the star of the show and push the more integral characters to the
sidelines.
The Oscar winner fought back, insisting that such claims were nonsense, while also revealing
that her nemesis had turned down an offer from HBO to make a televised adaptation rather
than a cinematic one for financial reasons.
Kramer obviously changed his mind as three years later a small screen version — directed
by Ryan Murphy — premiered to critical acclaim.
But even then, he was still at war with Streisand, telling The New York Times that she'd apparently
been uncomfortable with the story's gay sex scenes.
The singer once again issued a strong denial having also previously told The Hollywood
Reporter that same year,
"I think it's unfair to keep blaming me for the movie not getting made.
I worked on it for 25 years, without pay.
Larry had the rights for the last 15 years and he couldn't get it made, either.
Those are the facts."
Barbra Streisand apparently wasn't the most sympathetic soul when she auditioned Sean
Young for a role in her 1996 film The Mirror Has Two Faces.
Several years earlier, the latter had claimed she'd been fired from Dick Tracy after rejecting
director Warren Beatty's advances.
But Streisand, who's rumored to have once dated the accused, allegedly wasn't having
any of it.
While appearing on "Dudley and Bob with Matt Show" on Texas-based radio station KLBJ-FM
in 2017, Young recalled the moment she was shamed for speaking her truth, she said,
"When I went to my audition with her she said to me, 'I think it's disgusting that you talked
to the press!'
And what I had said to the press was that I was harassed.
That I was sexually harassed by Warren Beatty.
And she told me she thought that was disgusting."
The Blade Runner star then asked Streisand,
"What, am I the only actress who hasn't slept with Warren Beatty in this town?
I mean, that can't be true!"
Streisand refuted these claims in an official statement given to Variety, revealing,
"I have no memory of ever having interviewed Sean Young.
I do not condone the harassment of women under any circumstances."
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite celebrities are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.