Jane Fonda calls out Barbra Streisand’s Robert Redford Oscars tribute

Jane Fonda has hit out at the Oscars’ decision to invite Barbra Streisand to deliver the in memoriam tribute to Robert Redford, as opposed to her.

The Hollywood legend died last year at the age of 89, after an Oscar-winning career which included classic films Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men.

The Academy Awards ceremony capped off its tribute to the long list of late stars with a final homage to Redford, which included a musical number from 83-year-old Streisand.

However, Fonda, 88, questioned why she was not the one on stage for the moment, given that she worked on four films with Redford: Tall Story, The Chase, Barefoot In The Park and The Electric Horseman.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the Vanity Fair afterparty, Fonda 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!’

Fonda went on to say she would have had ‘more to say’ about the late star, explaining: ‘I was always in love with him. 

‘[He was] the most gorgeous human being and had such great values. He did a lot for movies – he lifted up independent movies.’

Streisand and Redford co-starred in the 1973 romance The Way We Were, and it was that titular number from their film that the EGOT-ed star sang to the Oscars crowd.

Speaking beforehand in tribute, she said on stage: ‘After I read the first script of The Way We Were, I could only imagine one man in the role and that was Robert Redford. But he turned it down because he said the character had no backbone.

‘He doesn’t stand for anything – and he was right. So many drafts later, Bob finally agreed to do it. 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 a scene.’

She continued: ‘He was thoughtful and bold. I called him a little intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail. I miss him now more than ever.’

Fonda penned a lengthy Instagram tribute to Redford last September, saying she had ‘cried all morning’ after news of his death.

‘Bob made a real difference in all good ways. He represented an America we must now fight to protect. He revolutionised independent filmmaking and made us swoon in so many movies. I am very sad today,’ she said. 

‘I can think back on so many joyful, laughter-filled moments when his practical jokes would crack me up.’

She went on to recall their first movie together, Barefoot in the Park, in which she said she ‘fell madly in love with him’.

She concluded: ‘I was wanting to go see him these last few months to make sure we were all right between us but I didn’t act on it soon enough. Lesson learned. When people are our age, late 80s, don’t wait. Thank you, dearest Bob, for all the pleasure you brought over the years.’

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