Becca Monaghan
Jul 06, 2022
New York Post
Bette Midler has shut down critics who called her "transphobic" following her tweet about women losing their names. But as one backlash started to settle, another one sparked.
Midler initially wrote on Twitter: “Women of the world! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even 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.”
The 76-year-old's tweet caused quite the storm with over 20,000 responses. Some people called Midler out for using language that some consider anti-trans.
She later claimed her post was a "response to this fascinating and well written piece in the NYT on July 3rd," adding: "There was no intention of anything exclusionary or transphobic in what I said; it wasn't about that."
The Hocus Pocus star said: "I’ve fought for marginalised 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 I have always supported and adored, so be it.
"But the truth is, democracy is slipping through our fingers! I’m all in on trying to save democracy for ALL PEOPLE. We must unite, because in case you haven’t been paying attention, divided we will definitely fall."
In an earlier post, Midler shared a meme of SCOTUS justices that has been slammed as "blatant bigotry and islamophobia."
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\u201chttps://t.co/rfW8ql7J1p\u201d— bettemidler (@bettemidler) 1657050996
One user said: "Ah, good, so we’ve gone from transphobia to islamophobia. Great Job, Bette. You’ve lost a fan".
Another urged "someone to take her phone, I’m begging."
While a third added: "So, you just woke up one day and said, 'Not only shall I be Transphobic, but I shall sprinkle in a dash of Racism too!!' And here I was excited for Hocus Pocus 2."
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