Jane Fonda celebrates Barbra Streisand's 'fabulous' tribute to Robert Redford
After questioning why Barbra Streisand was asked to pay tribute to Robert Redford at the Oscars instead of herself, Jane Fonda has now insisted she thought the moment was "fabulous".
Jane Fonda has insisted she thought Barbra Steisand's Oscars tribute to Robert Redford was "fabulous".
The 88-year-old actress recently questioned why she hadn't been asked to honour her late collaborator - who she starred with in The Tall Story, The Chase, Barefoot in the Park and Our Souls at Night - during the In Memoriam segment at the Academy Awards in March after his The Way We Were co-star Barbra was brought in to speak about the screen legend.
However, Jane has now insisted she was simply "being funny" and her comments were taken the wrong way because she hadn't meant to disrespect Barbra.
According to Entertainment Weekly, she told the audience at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood: "Barbra came on the Oscars thing to honour Bob,
“I was on the press line, and I thought I was being funny.
“I thought it was fabulous that they had Barbra out there, because that was such an iconic movie and the song was so incredibly beautiful."
Above all else, Jane knows the most important person of all, Robert himself, would have enjoyed the tribute.
She added: "Bob would have liked it."
The Book Club star had previously insisted she had "more to say" than Barbra after she delivered the tribute to their late co-star, who died in September 2025 aged 89.
She said: “I want to know how come Streisand was up there doing that for Redford?
“(She) only made one movie with him, I made four! I have more to say.”
Jane also spoke warmly about Robert, describing the impact he had on her life and on the film industry.
She added “I was always in love with him. The most gorgeous human being and such great values.
“And he did a lot for movies, he really changed movies, lifted up independent movies.”
During the ceremony, Barbra paid tribute to Robert before performing a rare live rendition of the song The Way We Were, more than a decade after she last sang it at the Oscars in honour of composer Marvin Hamlisch.
Reflecting on their collaboration during the tribute, Barbra spoke about the experience of working with Robert on the film.
Barbra said: “He was a brilliant, subtle actor.
“And we had a wonderful time playing off each other because we never quite knew what the other one was going to do in the scene.”
When Robert died, Jane shared a statement reflecting on their friendship.
She said: “It hit me hard this morning when I read that Bob was gone. I can’t stop crying.”
The actress added: “He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way. He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”
