Jane Fonda raised eyebrows on Sunday night when she took a cheeky swipe at Barbra Streisand over their late co-star Robert Redford.
Barbra left fans in tears during the Oscars In Memoriam segment, in which she praised the ‘thoughtful and bold’ actor – who died in September at the age of 89 – before launching into a rendition of The Way We Were.
Yet away from the Dolby Theatre, not everyone was as impressed with the tribute, with Jane saying: ‘I want to know how come Streisand was up there doing that for Redford. She only made one movie with him, I made four!’
While Jane’s tone was playful, she has had a complicated relationship with Barbra over the years.
In 2016, the sparring became public when Barbra claimed to have ‘made Jade Fonda’s career’.
According to the New York Times, Barbra made the comment ‘deadpan aside’, when it was pointed out that after she turned down roles in Klute, Julia and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? the parts ultimately went to Jane.
Inside Jane Fonda’s complicated relationship with ‘love rival’ Barbra Streisand after she took a swipe at her Robert Redford Oscars tribute (the trio are pictured together in 2015)
Jane raised eyebrows on Sunday night when she took a cheeky swipe at Barbra over the Oscars tribute she had paid to their late co-star Robert
Asked about the dig, Jane didn’t hold back on Watch What Happens Live, responding: ‘She needs to say things like that to kind of, you know, give her a little boost.
‘You have to feel sorry for her. It’s been a tough life. She needs something to boost her up.’
Yet she made her comments with a small smile, suggesting that the jibes were not taken too seriously.
Indeed Jane and Barbra have one big topic that they can bond over – their love of Robert Redford.
Jane was known for her collaborations with the late actor – working together on Tall Story (1960), The Chase (1996), Barefoot In The Park (1967) and The Electric Horseman (1979) – whereas Barbra co-starred in one movie with him, The Way We Were in 1973.
The actresses have both admitted to have a crush on the Hollywood heartthrob, however he only had eyes for his wife at the time, historian Lola Van Wagenen.
He shared four children with Van Wagenen – but the two later divorced, and he remarried in 2009 to German artist Sibylle Szaggars – with the couple staying together until his death.
Yet in 2015, Jane confessed that she was ‘in love’ with the star, saying: ‘I was always in love with Robert Redford.
‘I made three films with him and nothing happened because I was married and he was married.’
She added: ‘I live for sex scenes! He’s a great kisser. It was fun to kiss him in my 20s and then to kiss him again in my almost 80s.’
For his part, Robert said of their bond: ‘Jane and I have had a very special relationship going back to The Chase. It just clicks.
‘Whatever her life was – which was all over the place – whatever my life was, when we came together, those things were forgotten. We were just she and I working together.’
Jane added in a 2015 blog post: ‘I had to sum up my 50-year friendship with Bob R in 5 minutes but I got to say how I’d always been in love with him–on every movie– but that it was good we were both always married cause it never would have worked.
‘We’re too much alike– loners essentially (though you’d never know it from this blog) and kinda moody.’
Jane was known for her collaborations with Robert and later admitted she was ‘in love’ but nothing happened because they were both married (pictured in 1967’s Barefoot in the Park)
Barbra was also bedazzled by the Oscar-winning actor and it was claimed she was ‘infatuated’ with her co-star and ‘mesmerized’ by his beauty (pictured in 1973’s The Way We Were)
Meanwhile, Barbra was also bedazzled by the Oscar-winning actor, with author Robert Hofler, who published the 2023 book The Way We Were, claiming that she was ‘infatuated’ with her co-star and ‘mesmerized’ by his beauty.
‘Barbra was delighted because she had a crush on him, even before we started,’ the film’s director, Sydney Pollack, added in the book.
‘It was hard for women not to have a fixation, because he was everywhere, like Elvis. He was the golden boy long before Hubbell came along,’ Pollack continued.
The director shared that Robert, for his part, neither was ‘encouraging her nor using her crush to his advantage.’
It was also claimed in the book that Robert reportedly wore two pairs of underwear to ‘protect himself’ when they filmed sex scenes because he didn’t want to get involved with a woman he didn’t consider a ‘serious actress’ and wanted to ‘protect himself’ as he was a happily married father of four.
However, over the years, the pair remained close friends.
When Barbra presented Redford with the Chaplin Award in 2015, she joked: ‘Dear Bob, it was such fun being married to you for a while. Too bad it didn’t work out!
‘But we made something that will last much longer than many real marriages. I am so proud of the work we did together.’
The pair also reunited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Way We Were, with Robert telling Barbra he loved her ‘dearly and always will.’
With both Jane and Barbra linked to Robert over the years, it made sense that one of them would be chosen to present his tribute at the Oscars.
Yet Jane made headlines when questioned about the event in an interview with Entertainment Tonight at the Vanity Fair Oscars party.
Asked for her thoughts on the In Memoriam segment, which began with Rachel McAdams paying tribute to Diane Keating, Jane confessed: ‘I didn’t see that!’
As the presenter attempted to change the subject to discuss Jane’s dress, she then launched into her outburst about Barbra, noting she had made three more movies with Robert than her.
She added: ‘I had more to say’ about Robert, as she continued, ‘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.’
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