Did Barbra Streisand Snub Celine Dion At The 1997 Oscars? What They've Said

At the 69th Academy Awards ceremony on March 24, 1997, Celine Dion was poised to give her own rendition of "I Finally Found Someone," from the movie "The Mirror Has Two Faces," as a stand-in for original performer, Barbra Streisand. She had been asked to do so after the original replacement, Natalie Cole, backed out. Though Dion delivered on her end of the bargain, Streisand was noticeably absent from the performance, though she was present at the ceremony.

In an interview with Dion that was uploaded to YouTube in 2022, Streisand claimed she didn't know when the song would play during the show. The timing of Dion's performance inconveniently coincided with Streisand leaving to use the restroom just before it started — something she wouldn't find out until she was told by her husband, James Brolin. "I was horrified," Streisand said. To have Dion sing her song while the cameras cut to her with Brolin, Streisand said, was something she claimed she would not have wanted to miss.

Streisand said the situation sparked rumors that she had left the room on purpose, and that she and Dion had been in the middle of a feud; A possibility which was also questioned after Streisand also was not present to perform with Dion at the 1998 Grammy Awards. Contrary to the press' claims, Streisand argued her absence was accidental. "To read in the paper that, in a way, I purposefully went into the ladies' room is so devastating to me," Streisand said.

Despite reports that Barbra Streisand's absence was part of a supposed feud she had with Celine Dion, their ensuing collaboration says the opposite. In 1997, Streisand and Dion teamed up to produce the single "Tell Him," which was featured on both the former's album "Higher Ground," and the latter's "Let's Talk About Love" album, which were each released the same year.

In a September 2024 Instagram post, Dion reflected on the experience in recognition of the 27th anniversary of "Tell Him," saying she was honored to work alongside someone as accomplished as Streisand. "Never in a million years would I have thought or had the guts to ask to sing a duet with Barbra Streisand," she said. Dion was so starstruck, in fact, she said she was initially anxious about performing with her. "I'll admit, I was initially so nervous about the prospect of singing with Barbra," she said. "As I said then ... 'I can't sing with her.' Barbra's talent is unparalleled — she has four pianos in her vocal cords and can defeat everything vocally while I can barely hit certain notes."

Regardless of her fears, Dion powered through, and she noted how warm and kind Streisand was during their collaboration, putting any ideas of animosity between the two to rest.