Barbra Streisand’s reaction to Alysa Liu’s gold medal at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games has sparked mixed reactions on social media.
Liu, a 20-year-old American figure skater from Richmond, California, took the world by storm with her performances at the recently concluded Winter Olympics in Italy. She won gold medals in both women’s singles and the team event, becoming America’s first female figure skating Olympic gold medalist in 24 years.
Highlights
- Actress Barbra Streisand reacted to Alysa Liu’s recent double gold medal win at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
- Her comment about Liu’s ancestry offended some of her followers who found it “strange” and “bizarre.”
- Liu made history at the 2026 Olympic Games after quitting figure skating four years ago at Beijing.
Streisand, an actor, singer, director, and producer with a Hollywood career spanning more than six decades, heaped praise on Liu for her accomplishment in a social media post. However, the second half of her caption did not sit well with some of her followers.
“This is such a stupid post,” one user commented, calling Streisand out for the alleged tone-deafness of her post.
Alysa Liu’s victory reminded Barbra Streisand of a childhood memory
Image credits: Michael Buckner/Getty Images
Born and raised in California, Liu made history on the ice with her two medals at Milano Cortina. The last time an American woman won an Olympic gold in figure skating—Sara Hughes in 2002—Liu was not even born.
“We were so happy to see Alysa Liu win the gold medal in Milan yesterday,” Streisand wrote about Liu’s victory on Instagram. “My husband just showed me that in 2019, she skated to my song Don’t Rain on My Parade. I’m so proud of her.”
Image credits: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Don’t Rain on My Parade was one of her signature songs from the 1964 musical Funny Girl that marked her return to Broadway. It was later used in the movie, which also featured Streisand as the main character, the famous American entertainer, Fanny Brice.
“I heard that she is half Chinese,” Streisand continued in the post.
“My second family in Brooklyn who lived above us was a Chinese family called the Choys. I worked in their Chinese restaurant since I was 12 years old and also babysat for their children. She was like a second mother to me.”
Alysa’s father, Arthur Liu, reportedly arrived in Oakland, California, at the age of 25 after going into exile due to the crackdown on participants in the Tiananmen Square Protests. He was a graduate student in Guangzhou before leaving China.
Barbra Streisand’s congratulatory note to Alysa Liu divided the internet
Image credits: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Many believed that Streisand mentioning her neighbors while congratulating Liu was a “strange,” “bizarre”, and outright “unnecessary” addition.
“Girl, this caption was a wild ride,” one user said. Another user commented: “Why would you think this caption is okay?”
Some accused the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony)-winning actress of making Liu’s achievement about herself.
“How can I make someone else’s win about me,” one individual wrote.
Several made fun of the fact that the 83-year-old used Liu’s Chinese heritage to segue into a personal anecdote of her own.
“I had Chinese for lunch once. Very delicious. Would recommend,” one chimed in with sarcasm, while another said, “You can just congratulate another person without having to relate it somehow back to YOU.”
How Alysa Liu battled mental health struggles and became the heart of the 2026 Winter Olympics
Despite quitting figure skating after the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Liu returned and took the center stage in Italy. The cheerfulness with which she performed, cheered her teammates, and celebrated her wins made her a fan favorite overnight.
The scene was quite different for her four years ago. After finishing sixth in Beijing, 16-year-old Liu was burnt out and felt she needed to retire to enjoy other experiences in life.
Image credits: David Ramos/Getty Images
“I thought the only way for me to try other things was to leave this because I really felt trapped and stuck, and the only way in my brain to break out was to leave the sport,” she told CNN.
After training her entire life and winning competitions since her early teens, Liu decided to prioritize her mental health and quit.
“She became really unhappy,” her father, Arthur, said to USA Today. "She avoided the ice rink at all costs. She's traumatized. She was just traumatized. She was suffering from PTSD and she wouldn't go near the ice rink.”
Image credits: alysaxliu/Instagram
After spending two years studying psychology at UCLA and traveling with her friends, her passion for the sport returned during a skiing trip to Lake Tahoe in California in January 2024.
Alysa Liu said she hopes her return will raise awareness about mental health in sports
Image credits: 60 Minutes
Liu came back to the rink, this time with highlights in her hair, a frenulum piercing, a stark refusal to follow a diet, and a complete say in all her dress designs and song choices.
“The last time I was skating, it was so rough. I genuinely can’t begin to start on it,” she told CBC News.
“I hope with all this attention, I can raise awareness about mental health in sports and mental health more generally,” she added.
Image credits: alysaxliu/Instagram
Several of her moments went viral throughout as she competed with her newfound approach toward life. One such moment was when she rushed to Japanese figure skater Ami Nakai after the 17-year-old won the bronze medal in the same event Liu won gold.
She won over the internet with her happy jump on the podium after being awarded the gold medal. She is also an avid anime fan, with popular shows like Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen on her top five.
"This is hilariously unhinged." Social media responded to Barbra Streisand's comment after Alysa Liu won gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
