Wealth & Money Quote by Barbra Streisand

Streisand turns applause into a social problem, which is exactly the kind of comic control-freak honesty that made her such a defining performer. The joke lands because it’s shamelessly literal: if clapping is “approval,” what’s the correct transaction? Cash? Gratitude? A striptease? By escalating to “Lift my dress,” she punctures the unspoken bargain of celebrity, where audiences pay for access and then pretend their attention is pure admiration. Her punchline isn’t that applause is nice; it’s that applause is vague, performative, and oddly demanding. It asks for a response, but never specifies which one, leaving the performer trapped in etiquette.

The sharper turn is the last line: “The lack of applause - that I can respond to.” Silence, heckling, even coolness gives her something concrete: a note to adjust, a cue to fight harder, a measurable verdict. Applause, in this framing, is fog. It can be sincere, polite, or reflexive, and a star who’s built her brand on precision (voice, timing, image) can’t easily tolerate ambiguity. Subtext: she doesn’t just want love; she wants intelligible feedback and ownership of the moment.

There’s also a gendered edge. The “dress” bit needles the expectation that a woman’s gratitude should be bodily, flirtatious, available. Streisand refuses the script by exaggerating it until it’s ridiculous, reclaiming power through comedy and discomfort.