The Shady Side Of Barbra Streisand

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of a diva is either "a famous female singer of popular music" or "a self-important person who is temperamental and difficult to please." With 150 million record sales, 11 Billboard chart-topping albums and 46 Grammy nominations to her name, Barbra Streisand certainly fits the former. And according to many who have had the pleasure, or perhaps the misfortune, of working with her, the "Yentl" star fits the latter down to a tee, too.

Indeed, long before the likes of Mariah Carey and J-Lo demanding baskets of puppies and all-white dressing rooms on their backstage rider, the "Woman in Love" singer was renowned for putting anyone in her vicinity through their paces. Although the icon has generally refuted gossip about her allegedly arrogant air, rumor has it that during one particular visit to Las Vegas' MGM Grand, all employees were even forbidden from engaging in eye contact with Streisand. 

But what about her shade-throwing abilities? Well, although she's not exactly a match for her sharpest-tongued peer Patti LuPone, the singer/actor is still capable of expressing her contempt at other celebs. Let's look at nine times the funny girl embraced her mean girl side.

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 loggerheads throughout the filming of the 1969 big-screen musical.

Matthau appeared to take particular umbrage 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 described the actor as 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."

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 Bram Stoker's finest, 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 method to her madness.

The pair had previously embarked on an extra-marital affair but when Streisand decided to call it quits, Chaplin apparently started playing the vengeful ex. In "Streisand: Her Life" (via SFGate), 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 longue 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 blatant 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 of sexual abuse at the hands of Michael Jackson, she also admitted to feeling sorry for the accused.

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: "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 Associated Press that she felt "nothing but sympathy" for the victims. Then on her own website, she insisted she didn't mean to trivialize their experiences: "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 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 sacked from "Dick Tracy" after rejecting director Warren Beatty's sexual 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 (via Daily Mail) she was shamed for speaking her truth: "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: "I have no memory of ever having interviewed Sean Young. I do not condone the harassment of women under any circumstances."