Barbra Streisand has said she is "profoundly sorry" for saying that two men who accused Michael Jackson of sexually abusing them were "thrilled" to be with him and that their experience "didn't kill them".

Her apology came as Diana Ross also waded into the controversy, calling the singer a "magnificent force".

The two iconic women had rushed to the late pop star's defence following the release of the Netflix documentary Leaving Neverland, which detailed claims from Wade Robson and James Safechuck that they were abused by him as young boys.

Miss Streisand, the 76-year-old actress and singer who starred in multiple hit films including Funny Girl and the original A Star is Born, drew an intense backlash over remarks made to the The Times.

"His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has," she told the newspaper. “You can say ‘molested,' but those children, as you heard say, they were thrilled to be there. They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them.”