Bette Midler has landed herself in the headlines, and not just because of the recent trailer for the long-awaited “Hocus Pocus 2.″ A recent tweet from the pop diva had many people accusing Midler of transphobia.
“They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators,’” wrote Midler on Twitter.
WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name! They don’t call us “women” anymore; they call us “birthing people” or “menstruators”, and even “people with vaginas”! Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) July 4, 2022
The tweet — a call to arms after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — was criticized for using language common in anti-trans messaging. Midler acted quickly to explain herself.
Midler shared an opinion piece from the New York Times, titled ”The Far Right and Far Left Agree on One Thing: Women Don’t Count.” She reassured her followers that her tweet was in reference to the article and wasn’t meant to be exclusionary.
PEOPLE OF THE WORLD! My tweet about women was a response to this fascinating and well written piece in the NYT on July 3rd. https://t.co/MlsATlrr1r. There was no intention of anything exclusionary or transphobic in what I said; it wasn’t about that.
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) July 5, 2022
Midler’s tweet was described as “tone deaf” and “a part of the problem,” but the singer argued that her 60 years of support for marginalized people speaks for itself.
“I’ve fought for marginalized people for as long as I can remember. Still, if you want to dismiss my 60 years of proven love and concern over a tweet that accidentally angered the very people,” Midler said in a tweet.
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