As Barbra Streisand contends with the fallout from her comments defending Michael Jackson, another prominent singer has expressed her support of the embattled singer.
Jackson’s legacy has taken a hit since last month’s airing of Leaving Neverland, which has brought renewed scrutiny to the singer’s past relationships with underage boys and allegations of sexual misconduct.
However, in a tweet posted Saturday, Diana Ross defended the former King of Pop. “This is what’s on my heart this morning. I believe and trust that Michael Jackson was and is a magnificent incredible force to me and to many others,” she wrote.
Ross concluded her initial tweet by writing, “STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE”, a reference to her classic song with The Supremes. Later, Ross tweeted a link to audio of Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s in Need of Love Today”.
This is what’s on my heart this morning. I believe and trust that Michael Jackson was and is A magnificent incredible force to me and to many others.
STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE— Ms. Ross (@DianaRoss) March 23, 2019
Here the dream https://t.co/ySkkuNv3Ig
— Ms. Ross (@DianaRoss) March 23, 2019
In his memoir, Jackson described Ross as “my mother, my lover, and my sister all rolled into one,” and in his will, he named Ross as the secondary caregiver to his three children. The two were close friends for nearly four decades, first forging a relationship during their years on Motown in the 1970s and later starring together in the 1978 film The Wiz.
As for Streisand, she’s sought to clean up her initial comments in which she appeared to sympathize with Jackson. In an interview with The Evening Standard, she was quoted as saying, “[Jackson’s] sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has.” Steisand also appeared to blame the victims’ parents for putting their kids in such a situation: “I feel bad for the children. I feel bad for [Jackson]. I blame, I guess, the parents, who would allow their children to sleep with him.”
In a follow-up statement released Saturday, Streisand said: “To be crystal clear, there is no situation or circumstance where it is OK for the innocence of children to be taken advantage of by anyone. The stories these two young men shared were painful to hear, and I feel nothing but sympathy for them. The single most important role of being a parent is to protect their children. It’s clear that the parents of the two young men were also victimized and seduced by fame and fantasy.”
