Jane Fonda said she was more qualified to honor Robert Redford than Barbra Streisand at this year’s Oscars ceremony because she “has more to say” about the late screen legend.
“I want to know why Streisand would do that for Redford?” Fonda, 88, sarcastically asked Entertainment Tonight during the Vanity Fair Oscar Party after the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night.
The “Barbarella” star then joked that Streisand, 83, “only made one movie” with Redford, while she “made four movies.”
Fonda joked that she had “more to say,” and gushed that she “always loved” the late actor.
“He’s the most gorgeous human being and has great values,” she said. “And he did a lot for film, really changing film and elevating independent film.”
Streisand and Redford co-starred in Sidney Pollack’s 1973 romantic drama The Way We Were.
Meanwhile, Fonda and Redford co-starred in 1966’s The Chase, 1967’s Barefoot in the Park, 1979’s The Electric Horseman, and 2017’s Our Souls at Night.
But Streisand was ultimately chosen to pay tribute to Redford in a touching tribute segment at the Dolby Theater on Sunday night.
The “The President’s Men” star passed away on September 16, 2025 at the age of 89.
“After I read the first script for ‘The Way We Were,’ I could only imagine one man to play the role, and that was Robert Redford,” Streisand said on this year’s Tribute.
“But he said no, saying the character had no backbone,” she continued. “He didn’t stand for anything, and he was right. After many drafts, Bob finally agreed to do it.”
Streisand, who also gave a moving performance of the film’s title song, recalled Redford as “amazing” and “a sensitive actor.”
“We had a great time competing against each other because we had no idea what the other person was going to do in a certain scene,” she said. “Even with how much he loved to tease me, I miss him more than ever now.”
As for Fonda, she herself paid tribute to Redford following his sad death.
“I was devastated to hear of Bob’s passing this morning,” she said in a statement to The Post through her agent.
“I can’t stop crying,” Fonda continued. “He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way. He represented the America that we must continue to fight for.”
The Oscar-winning actress posted a lengthy statement on Instagram following Redford’s death, along with an image of “Our Souls at Night.”
Stars remembered in this year’s Oscar Tribute category also include Rob Reiner, Diane Keaton, Catherine O’Hara and Robert Duvall.
Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan and more than a dozen of Reiner’s co-stars paid tribute to the late director and his impressive career as The Princess Bride theme played in the background.
Rachel McAdams paid tribute to Keaton, her co-star in 2005’s The Family Stone and 2010’s Morning Glory, as well as O’Hara and all the beloved actresses who have passed away in the past year.
