Barbra Streisand dishes with Stephen Colbert on first dates with James Brolin, last straws with Donald Trump and even the existence of God
With a new memoir to promote, Streisand's chat with Colbert covers loves new and old, politics, pets and — wait for it — BBQ sauce.
Barbra Streisand was a guest on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Monday, and she covered plenty of topics, from her love life to politics to God and beyond.
In promotion of her new memoir, My Name is Barbra, the Hollywood icon invited Stephen Colbert to her Malibu home, where they chatted about things like her cloned dogs, her high-profile past flings, rumors about her demanding flower petals in the toilet, why she doesn't like to give public press interviews and what she would do if Donald Trump becomes president again.
Here’s a look at some of the interview’s best moments.
Rollin’ with Brolin
Streisand spoke about the first date she went on with her now-husband, actor James Brolin, over 25 years ago. After being set up by a friend, she arrived at the location to meet him only to see that he had cut off all of his hair down to a buzz cut and had no facial hair. Needless to say, she was disappointed.
“I said, ‘Who f***ed up your hair?’” Streisand said, adding that Brolin loved her honesty at that moment. And from there things were on the fast track.
“We talked about everything that night. And then he said, ‘I’m taking you home.’ Woo. Whoa. I never had a man say that to me, I’m taking you home… that was interesting,” she said.
She would go on to say that an average night in their household together pretty much consists of watching series and movies with their dogs.
The lovely @barbrastreisand shares what an evening at home is like with #JamesBrolin and her beloved dogs. ????#Colbert pic.twitter.com/NuuRy4DZK7
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) November 14, 2023
Kiss and (don’t) tell
When it came to revealing any details about her plethora of past co-stars that she has kissed on screen, Streisand was hesitant to say much of anything despite Colbert’s best efforts.
To avoid pressuring her into a game of kiss and tell, Colbert asked Streisand to play “kiss and have a reaction” instead, as he rattled off names like Robert Redford, Jeff Bridges, Nick Nolte and Kris Kristofferson.
And not only did Streisand not give any info about those fellas, she replied with things like, “I don’t think this is a good game” and “not gonna talk about it.”
.@barbrastreisand doesn't kiss & tell! ??#Colbert pic.twitter.com/0Gn1i2zXtK
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) November 14, 2023
Talking politics… and people
After admitting that the current political landscape is “bad,” Streisand did say that she likes President Biden because he’s “compassionate, he’s smart, he supports the right things.”
When asked by Colbert what she would do if Trump became president again, Streisand has already made up her mind.
“I will move, I can’t live in this country if he became president,” she said, before offering up what the new destination would be: “Probably England, I like England.”
Colbert also asked Streisand about the current rise of anti-Semitism and fascism, not only around the world but in the United States.
“It’s so sad about what’s going on today,” she said. “Meaning, people have to live together even though they’re different religions, or whatever. People are people, it’s true. We all want the same thing: We all want love in our hearts, we all want family, we all want to feel secure. I hope for the best because this is heartbreaking, what’s happening now with these people. The children, the mothers, it doesn’t matter what religion they are, do you know what I mean? This is beyond religion. This is insanity for us to not learn how to live together in peace.”
Streisand also added that she “could easily cry” about everything that’s going on and had one question about it all.
“Where is God at this time, where is he or she? Why can’t that energy stop this madness?” Streisand wondered.
Flower petals & BBQ sauce
Streisand also took a few moments to clear up an age-old rumor that she demands flower petals in the toilets when she travels to hotels. She ended up giving two different explanations on how this may have happened and confirming that is indeed not the case with her.
And to end the interview in style, Colbert brought up how Streisand fought to get full control over her music career after a record label wanted to name one of her albums, Sweet and Saucy Streisand.
“I said, ‘I’m neither sweet nor saucy,’” she said.
Colbert then pointed out that she missed out on a huge branding opportunity because, while it’s not a great title for an album, it is a great name for a BBQ sauce. So he made Babs her own BBQ sauce label and handed her a bottle.
“Look folks, in my next life I will come back as a sauce maker and sell this, and I’ll give Stephen a piece,” she said, holding up the bottle.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs on CBS.