Fonda, who was in four films with Redford, playfully asked why the singer was chosen to give the in memoriam speech for the late actor
Jane Fonda has said she wishes she could have fronted the tribute to Robert Redford at Sunday night’s Academy Awards, rather than Barbra Streisand.
Speaking on the red carpet at an Oscars afterparty, Fonda told a red carpet reporter: “I want to know how come Streisand was up there doing that for Redford?” The actor then playfully added that while Streisand “only made one movie with him, I made four … I have more to say.”
Streisand’s memories of her one-time co-star and longtime friend was one of three extended sections in the 2026 in memoriam segment of the ceremony, preceded by tributes to Rob Reiner and Diane Keaton.
The actors had worked together on the 1973 Sydney Pollack drama The Way We Were, the title track of which Streisand also sang from on stage. She recalled his initial reticence about taking the role and his professional and political conscientiousness.
