Critics blasted liberal actress Bette Midler after she lashed out at Sen. Joe Manchin’s constituents, calling West Virginians “poor, illiterate and strung out.”
“What #JoeManchin, who represents a population smaller than Brooklyn, has done to the rest of America, who wants to move forward, not backward, like his state, is horrible,” Midler tweeted. “He sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate and strung out.”
The attack came after the Democratic senator announced he could not move forward on the “mammoth” Build Back Better legislation.
Critics on social media sounded off on her "hateful" comments.
This is exactly what they think of good hardworking Americans that live outside of their elite bullshit NY/LA bubbles. They hate that a Democrat would actually represent his constituents rather than follow blindly the insane and radical plans of lunatic DC Dems! https://t.co/PeJXbakTN3
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 21, 2021
All those West Virginians who bought her albums and saw her movies and went to NYC to see her on Broadway...
— Larry O'Connor (@LarryOConnor) December 21, 2021
How long does an industry survive when its highest-profile representatives constantly insult their customers?
Hey @disneyplus... what're your plans for Hocus Pocus 2? https://t.co/Ic7ghvBVDo
It would be hard to encapsulate the condescension leftists feel for tens of millions of Americans any better than this does in one tweet.
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) December 20, 2021
Democrats should continue this line of attack. It is an excellent strategy for them. https://t.co/XKfbTVzBR2
This is how the Hollywood elite like @BetteMidler view the poor. This is downright despicable, reprehensible and repugnant. Thank God @Sen_JoeManchin doesn’t see them this way. #Manchin #BBB https://t.co/Q5z9ECFJ9c
— Fred Fredburger (@SpaciusImpetu) December 20, 2021
Midler later followed up with an apology to the "good people of WVA," though she kept up the original tweet.
I apologize to the good people of WVA for my last outburst. I’m just seeing red; #JoeManchin and his whole family are a criminal enterprise. Is he really the best WV has to offer its own citizens? Surely there’s someone there who has the state’s interests at heart, not his own!
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) December 20, 2021
People in West Virginia vote for people like him, because of people like you. https://t.co/pdKKWFNHRu
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) December 20, 2021