Bette Midler found herself the subject of serious backlash this week after she issued a tweet comparing women to the “n word” of the world, later issuing an apology on the social media platform.
“The too brief investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh infuriated me,” she wrote. “Angrily I tweeted w/o thinking my choice of words would be enraging to black women who doubly suffer, both by being women and by being black. I am an ally and stand with you; always have. And I apologize.”
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The too brief investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh infuriated me. Angrily I tweeted w/o thinking my choice of words would be enraging to black women who doubly suffer, both by being women and by being black. I am an ally and stand with you; always have. And I apologize.
— Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) October 5, 2018
The entertainer made her original point on Thursday amid protests taking place in Washington, D.C. in response to the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his upcoming Senate vote.
“‘Women, are the n-word of the world,’” Midler wrote in a now-deleted tweet. “Raped, beaten, enslaved, married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance; enduring the pain and danger of childbirth and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years[.] They are the most disrespected creatures on earth.”
She immediately received criticism from fellow Twitter users, with many disparaging her and addressing the fact that the tweet was offensive to black women.
Black women have let you know that this is offensive. Are they not women too? It is not our job as white women to dismiss black women’s experiences and feelings. It’s our job to listen and and do better.
— Rachel Fisher (@TheRachelFisher) October 5, 2018
Others criticized the fact that Midler used the n-word at all.
As a fellow white woman I urge you to reevaluate this statement. It erases our sisters of color and appropriates the language that black people were enslaved with in our history. A history that has benefited white women like us. There is no feminism until we end white feminism.
— Jessica Zender 🐝🐝🐝 (@jesszen) October 5, 2018
LeVar Burton noted that while Midler’s tweet likely came from a place of good intentions, her choice of words was not the right one.
Dear @BetteMidler
— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) October 5, 2018
I believe you meant well. Still, you crossed a line AND gave the impression that your suffering is commensurate with that of my ancestors. I don’t think that’s what you meant, at least I hope not.
Sincerely,
Kunta
Midler attempted to defend her statement in a second message, writing, “I gather I have offended many by my last tweet. ‘Women are the…etc.’ is a quote from Yoko Ono from 1972, which I never forgot. It rang true then, and it rings true today, whether you like it or not. This is not about race, this is about the status of women; THEIR HISTORY.”
The quote Midler was originally referring to was from the song “Woman Is the N– of the World” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. The song also received criticism at the time of its release.
Midler later deleted both of her initial tweets before posting her apology.
Photo Credit: Getty / Gilbert Carrasquillo
