Jane Fonda clarifies her Barbra Streisand shade about Robert Redford's Oscars tribute: 'I thought I was being funny'

Leigh BlickleyFri, May 1, 2026 at 5:17 PM UTC

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Jane Fonda said she was joking when she shaded Barbra Streisand's Oscars "In Memoriam" tribute to the late Robert Redford.

At the TCM Classic Film Festival, Fonda said "Bob would have liked" Streisand's "fabulous" tribute.

The actresses both worked with Redford over the course of their careers.

Jane Fonda said she was joking when she shaded Barbra Streisand following her tribute to the late Robert Redford at the Oscars in March.

Streisand, 84, took to the stage during the 98th Academy Awards "In Memoriam" segment to honor her The Way We Were costar Redford, who died at 89 in September, with an emotional — and musical — tribute.

Following the touching moment, Fonda, 88, told Entertainment Tonight that she should've been the one to memorialize the legendary actor. "I wanna know how come Streisand was up there doing that for Redford? She only made one movie with him, I made four," Fonda playfully lamented to ET after the awards show. "I have more to say."

Fonda finally shared more about the so-called snub while kicking off the opening night of the TCM Classic Film Festival on Thursday, April 30. The festival honored Fonda and Redford's 1967 film Barefoot in the Park.

"By the way, Barbra came on the Oscars thing to honor Bob. I was on the press line, and I thought I was being funny," Fonda said, according to USA Today, after settling into her seat on the TCM stage. "I said, 'Why did they ask [Streisand]? I made four movies with him.' But actually, 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."

She added over applause, "Bob would have liked it."

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Fonda acted opposite Redford across five decades of their respective careers, most notably in a string of movies released in the '60s and '70s. Along with Barefoot in the Park, they starred in 1966's The Chase and 1979's The Electric Horseman. Their friendship lasted decades and they eventually reunited on screen for 2017's Our Souls at Night.

Speaking about the movies they made together, Fonda added to ET, "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."

On Thursday, she joked that she tried to "rub up against" Redford while they shot a scene in bed for Barefoot in the Park. "And he was supposed to be asleep, and he stayed asleep," she deadpanned before adding, "No, I had such a crush on him. And it was painful."

Streisand also spoke about Redford's gravitas following his death. "Bob was charismatic, intelligent, intense, always interesting — and one of the finest actors ever," Streisand wrote on Instagram at the time. "The last time I saw him, when he came to lunch, we discussed art and decided to send each other our first drawings."

She concluded, "He was one of a kind and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him."

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

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