Bubble, bubble, Betteâs in trouble.
Unless youâre a long-dead witch waiting for a virgin to light the Black Flame Candle during a full moon so you can be resurrected, chances are youâve seen stage and screen legend Bette Midlerâs unfortunate tweets of late.
Sheâs been on a tear this past week, spouting transphobic rhetoric and then only making it worse in her attempts to clarify what she meantânot to mention her knock on the Supreme Court, which many have called out as racist and Islamophobic.
WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name! They donât call us âwomenâ anymore; they call us âbirthing peopleâ or âmenstruatorsâ, and even âpeople with vaginasâ! Donât let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!
â bettemidler (@BetteMidler) July 4, 2022
Itâs all been a bit difficult to stomach, especially for fans who have long considered Midler to be an ally to the LGBTQ community. Between her work on Broadway and roles in iconic films like Beaches and The First Wives Club, some might even call the actress a gay icon. But after her latest statements, itâs difficult to argue she still deserves the title.
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Related: The rift between SJP and Kim Cattrall just got a little more complicated thanks to Kathy Najimy
And, for a generation of gays who grew up on Hocus Pocus, sheâs single-handedly tanking anticipation for the Halloween stapleâs long-awaited sequel. As many have pointed out, Midlerâs tasteless tweets are a huge buzzkill for the filmâjust as its promotional blitz was starting to heat up. Should Disney be worried about Winifred Sanderson putting a curse on Hocus Pocus 2âs name before anyoneâs even been able to see it?
With the sequel slated to debut on Disney+ on September 30, perhaps itâs best if Midler stays off the internet for the rest of the summer.
Naturally, Twitter has a lot of thoughts about what this all could mean for Hocus Pocus 2âhere are just a few of our favorite reactions. Hang onto your heads!
The Hocus Pocus 2 press cycle is gonna be real awkward âŚ
â Aisha Harris (@craftingmystyle) July 6, 2022
Someone at Disney+ should probably sit down with Bette Midler because I don't know who the fuck they think the audience for HOCUS POCUS 2 is but ⌠uhhh they're losing tons of interest and positive buzz real fucking fast and no TERFy trash is gonna show up to replace.
â Angie Manfredi (@misskubelik) July 6, 2022
Bette Midler fumbling the bag just before Hocus Pocus 2 drops by coming out as a TERF is very 2022
â Mark Martinez (@MarkElDude) July 5, 2022
Disney trying to stay optimistic about Hocus Pocus 2 after looking at twitter today pic.twitter.com/Bd9gn15hjf
â Amanda Please (@AmandaPleaseNYC) July 6, 2022
"Alright, Hocus Pocus 2 is almost out, it's gonna be a slam dunk. Just nobody get racist and we'll be fine." https://t.co/tzQrq0iACV
â Jahn (Endwalking) (@JOHNofWAR) July 5, 2022
bette milder turning out to be transphobic while promoting hocus pocus 2, a movie that only queer people wanted to see made ? one way to make sure it flops
â george (@grgauwds) July 6, 2022
Condolences to whoeverâs handling marketing and PR for Hocus Pocus 2.
â Romina J (@filinadiangirl) July 6, 2022
Well, at least Disney has a couple of months to give Bette the Sh*rry P** edit for Hocus Pocus 2.
â Mannequin Skywalker (@HoJoLego) July 5, 2022
Disney putting this line in the HOCUS POCUS 2 teaser was pretty bold, not gonna lie pic.twitter.com/ZQD9ZfMFq5
â Tom Zohar (@TomZohar) June 28, 2022
if Bette Midler making an ass of herself on twitter for the umpteenth time is what it takes to finally run the Hocus Pocus nostalgia train into the ground forever iâm all for it
â coleman spilde (@colemanjspilde) July 5, 2022
MystiRivers
Yeah, you’re not gonna get the gay community to turn on Bette.
mrcynical
The are a lot of gay people who couldn’t give a shit about trans rights, but there are a lot that do. Bette’s outing as a TERF and her pathetic response and “sorry you were offended” apology shows that this is just the beginning. We saw it with JK so we know what to look for and unless she starts listening to transwomen and responding accordingly, instead of just being defensive, i’m done with her.
v6origal97
Iâm all-inclusive. I was not offended by her comments. Sheâs a woman, saying she wants to be called a woman. I donât understand why thatâs anti-trans. She clearly meant no disrespect, and she has been an ally her whole life – even publicly, when it was dangerous, to do so.
mastik8
Can anyone prove that this isn’t just part of the advertising campaign? This is already feeling very Chappelle.
andrewl
The Trans Community need to get a grip on reality. Not every tweet needs to affirm their cause. Sometimes tweets can be about other issues, you do not need your cause to be affirmed and supported. Betteâs tweets were all about abortion rights being taken away.
mrcynical
She shared a transphobic article that compared women being forced to give birth against their will, with some organisations voluntarily using more inclusive language. They are not comparable.
right1
Hear! Hear!
mrcynical
“See, I love the gays” is not how you defend being transphobic
PQ
You old gays are exhausting. You’ve survived the AIDS crisis, seen your right to have sex litigated, your right to marry litigated, your right to have children litigated. You’ve overcome so much adversity and hate and you can’t scrape together an ounce of empathy and compassion for our trans brothers and sisters.
abfab
Crickets.
They have lost their humanity, PQ.
Crayonap
That’s really hateful young gay bullshit you speak. We have fought to survive the AIDS crisis and made it more likely others will as well, we have made our right to have sex be seen as a human right for all people (remember Sodomy doesn’t mean butt-sex child), not so sure about the children part since a great many adoption agencies still discriminate. We have overcome adversity and hate because of our empathy and compassion and that includes our trans brothers and sisters. I keep hearing this talking point from the young gays about the old gays not supporting abortion rights or trans rights. Young Gay stop doing the Right’s work for them by taking the bait and thinking that the elders of the LGBTQ+ community are your enemies. Maybe you need to get to know some of us. Doesn’t sound like you’ve ever done that basic work of being part of the community, if you had you probably wouldn’t be posting these things.
PQ
Crayonap – I’m a member of Gen X. I’ve just learned how to evolve as a person.
PQ
I should also clarify Crayon that I have volunteered for years for the SAGE program in multiple cities. I have heard more stories from our elders than I can count. I have literally fed and clothed our elders. And I am fully aware that sodomy is not just butt sex. But if you’re going to try to make the argument that sodomy laws are applied equally to heterosexuals than you either incredibly naive or very manipulative. Thank you for calling me a child. I’m well into my 40’s, but I’ll take it.
LumpyPillows
Pathetic, PQ. Trans people exist in the open because of the work we did.
Crayonap
PQ: If you’re going to start with “old gays” then I’m going to assume that you are young, not because I am stupid but because it is the usual companion term to it. Great that you volunteer we should all care for our elders. For the record I volunteer at OneNTen a LGBTQ+ youth support organization in the Phoenix area. That volunteering includes lots of trans youth. My work within the response to AIDS includes trans people. My referring to Sodomy laws is about the understanding that straight people needed to be taught that those laws also referred to them even though they weren’t being enforced that way, once again working in an inclusive way to gain our community’s rights. I didn’t need to evolve to include trans people because I understand that my fight has always included them. I’m sorry if you’ve been talking to old gays who don’t understand that. So, sorry if you don’t understand that I’ve extended more than empathy and compassion, I’ve fought for them.
PQ
Wow Lumpy, could your ego get any bigger? I fought and marched and bled for these rights as well. I am thrilled to support our trans brothers and sisters. And I don’t feel like they owe me anything.
PQ
Crayon, then maybe you shouldn’t be so butt hurt by comments that don’t apply to you. Me thinks the homo doth protest too much…if the shoe fits…and other such generalities may be inserted here. I don’t recall saying you’re stupid. So again, maybe ease up on sharing with us your own insecurities and self doubt. You empathy and compassion is super condescending buddy. But again, if the shoe fits.
PQ
Also lumpy, leave it to an old cis gay man to assume trans people didn’t fight for their own rights and that YOU are responsible for the freedoms they have won. It’s almost as if Stonewall never happened. Your sense of entitlement is astonishing.
Ronbo
We are all trans brothers and sisters sharing both feminine and masculine gender traits – some just want to be extra “special” – not just gay or lesbian. This trend even comes a “new” spotlight: gender stereotypes forcing people back into trite male or female roles. Statistics tell over 95% of trans are going to convert back to being gay and lesbian when the spotlight fades.
It’s exhausting watching the kids tell us how girls have the prettiest penis and a man is giving birth. Science has no empathy or compassion for idiots.
dougmbaaser
Tell us more from your place of privilege that we earned for you, we âold gaysâ and allies like Bette Midler. Youâre exhausting. Someone doesnât agree with your exact point of view so they have no empathy or compassion? Puh-lease. You keep walking across bridges we built for you, young gay.
mailliw110
Please define “Old gays”. Or are you just an ageist?
Crayonap
You begin with “old gays” so you are including me in your terms. Homo doth “protest too much”? Then you have the nerve to throw one of the oldest homophobic terms in English literature at me? You know Shakespeare, Hamlet, and a woman not being able to protest at all and equating gay men with women specifically inept/stupid/powerless womenl? So check your homophobia. At least you didn’t use the term “bitter”. Your inability to understand the homophobia of your protest tells me that maybe you haven’t really been talking to people. Your condescension is exhausting. Maybe you need to re-think that volunteering you do caring for the “old gays”, sounds like your compassion has been exhausted and you aren’t doing anyone any good by caring for people for whom you have such contempt.
right1
See Crayonap reply!! Exactly.
LumpyPillows
PQ. You are completely wrong to say most of us are anti-trans. We aren’t. You need to think outside your black and white world. And, no, the 0.1 percent of people who are trans won nothing for any one. You’re the tip of the tail wagging the dog. I’ve been doing this forever, and what I know is that there have been almost no trans people volunteering or donating to the cause. Does that make them unworthy. No. But stop pretending trans people have been anything but ballast.
ducdebrabant
I don’t think it’s in any way anti-trans to call a woman a woman, and I will call any woman that who wants me to (as I will also do with any trans woman). Names like “menstruators” or “people with vaginas” may not mean to sound insulting, but they do. And I love Bette Midler.
Ronbo
THIS!
LumpyPillows
No such thing as cancel culture? Ha.
I don’t think real people care.
cuteguy
I stopped caring after mean girl SJP attacked the queen Kim Cattrall. Transphobic Bette is just the icing on this proverbial mess of a cake that is Hocus Pocus 2. And Just Like That⌠SJP ruined another reboot.
CarnieAsada
Get OVER yourself. Toughen up. If you can’t deal with ‘mean tweets’ and ‘mean celebrities’ being mean towards each other, I’ve got bad news. There is a bunch of people out there, way more people than there are in the LGBT community, and they’re coming for your rights and dignity. We have to stop being so childish and overly sensitive. Jesus, it’s like a whole generation of babies!
Toofie
All the twitter attacks amounts to nothing. Hocus Pocus 2 will be fine and Bette Midler will be fine. The knee jerk attacks on her when there are REAL enemies out there is just sad. And even when she tries to clarify, she gets dumped on again as if sheâs Clarence Thomas. Seriously, focus on the real enemy.
v6origal97
This ????????
John Raymond Barker
I agree that fighting with people on your side can be antithetical, but Bette has accidentally? entered into transphobic terrain. If she keeps standing by those ideas, that doesnât place her on the side of trans people, who are currently some of the most marginalized, attacked, murdered people in our countryâespecially transgender people of color. I adore Bette, but I will stand by our trans brothers and sisters.
bachy
Bette Midler don’t need no pronouns like these other broads. They haven’t got that hard core like Bette. They never learned to roll with the punches. And, believe me, in this world they come left, right and below the belt!
The only hit that will come out of Hocus Pocus 2 is Bette Midlerâ that’s BETTE, baby, remember?
BuddyinCA
Sorry. I don’t see any transphobia in Bette’s tweet!
John Raymond Barker
Itâs very possible Bette didnât intend to be transphobic, but the article she links to, which inspired the first tweet is extremely transphobic (per trans people). As i imagine you know, inclusion doesnât take anything away from others. Where I think Bette has failed is true of any ally that forgets that learning/unlearning is a lifelong process and begs humility. Lastly, we cisgender people donât get to be the authority on what is or isnât transphobic any more than heterosexuals get to decide what is or isnât homophobic.
monty clift
I’m sure she wasn’t being bigoted towards trans, but the fact is bigots are using her comments to justify hating trans, it’s evident all over this board.
Bosch
“they call us âbirthing peopleâ or âmenstruatorsâ, and even âpeople with vaginasâ!
They don’t, though.
Bette isn’t transphobic, she just fell for a lie curated by transphobes.
No need to lynch her.
still_onthemark
Itâs a lie? I appreciate your (neuroscientist) responses to the anti-trans posters here. Kudos. But itâs not a lie.
From the NYT article by Pamela Paul that started all this:
âPlanned Parenthood, once a stalwart defender of womenâs rights, omits the word âwomenâ from its home page. NARAL Pro-Choice America has used âbirthing peopleâ in lieu of âwomen.â The American Civil Liberties Union, a longtime defender of womenâs rights, last month tweeted its outrage over the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade as a threat to several groups: âBlack, Indigenous and other people of color, the L.G.B.T.Q. community, immigrants, young people.â It left out those threatened most of all: women. âŚ
âThe noble intent behind omitting the word âwomenâ is to make room for the relatively tiny number of transgender men and people identifying as nonbinary who retain aspects of female biological function and can conceive, give birth or breastfeed. But despite a spirit of inclusion, the result has been to shove women to the side.â
Itâs absurd and actually dangerous that Planned Parenthood (!), especially, is doing this. Who does it help? Millions of women will be confused by the website â perhaps catastrophically or even fatally so. Dozens upon dozens (at most) of transmen are already aware theyâre potential âbirthing peopleâ; they didnât need the message in the first place and were not clamoring for it. What is the point of all this?
It’s nice that you say “No need to lynch her” but it seems Queerty (for instance) doesn’t agree with you. Obviously Queerty has ALREADY decided Bette is a transphobe, no apology will ever be adequate, they’re going to milk this controversy endlessly, and they’ll refer to Bette for the rest of her life as a “transphobe.”
Bosch
The language used at a medical clinic is unrelated to the language used in society.
still_onthemark
@bosch: The ACLU is not a medical clinic. NARAL is not a medical clinic.
A local Planned Parenthood office usually IS one, but their national website is addressing a now-panicky general public rather than medical professionals. The lingo is needlessly confusing and dangerous.
Bosch
Explain why it’s dangerous for institutions that deal with women and trans-men to use terms that encompass both?
still_onthemark
@bosch: ???
Because a lot of the women (and underage girls) who need abortions are not very educated, may not even have finished high school yet, and they may not know what the f*** Planned Parenthood is talking about on their site. You’re acting like the PP site is Lancet or JAMA.
Bosch
So girls won’t know they are people who give birth? Mhm.
I stand by it. Bette is not a transphobe, and inclusive words are not the downfall of society.
still_onthemark
“So girls won’t know they are people who give birth?” Come on, there are news stories all the time about uneducated women who don’t know the specifics of how pregnancy works. Some give birth without even knowing they’re pregnant.
Transmen who can get pregnant know all about it from their doctors. They already HAVE doctors. They’re not looking to Planned Parenthood for that info. A lot of pregnant women and girls don’t have doctors and haven’t seen one in years, if ever.
You seem to agree the ACLU and NARAL don’t need to use this lingo since they’re not medical clinics.
mailliw110
I’m not finding the transphobe here. But then again, I’m an “old gay” so……
MystiRivers
Just checked back in to see if the gays have abandoned Bette yet. Still nope.
Man About Town
What nonsense. There’s nothing transphobic about her comments, but of course Cameron Scheetz, who continues to sound like a 12-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert, is gonna scream “phobic”!
God save us from the Woke Wombats of the World.
CarnieAsada
There is a huge fight ahead and if we can’t have a bit more grace and tougher skin we’re not going to survive as a community. STOP CANCELING PEOPLE. It’s annoying and you’re just playing right into the MAGAts’ hand when you do stupid crap like this.
NOBODY WALKS ON WATER. All you woke cry babies are annoying. I grew up in an age where I had to FIGHT for every little ounce of respect I got.
Time for you to do the same. Like I said, the battle ahead will be rough and if we can’t survive a stupid tweet by a celebrity, we are all F*CKED.
still_onthemark
But Twitter makes it so-o-o-o-o-o-o easy to attack people you 99% agree with, and thereby feel like you’re a Virtuous Person who is Accomplishing Something. That’s pretty much the definition of “slacktivism.”
Spending one’s time on Twitter attacking other liberals’ language is a lot easier than, say, working for a real-life political campaign. Or even making a donation.
John Raymond Barker
I agree that no one should be canceled. But holding people accountable–and done with respect–is definitely what is needed if someone who has a platform is misrepresenting a marginalized group or how one should fight for the respect they want. There are plenty of people who ruin their argument and the cause by using shaming/dehumanizing language. Many others have been respectful, trying to appeal to Bette’s intelligence and good heart–again fighting for their respect like you did.
Wolfie
Bette’s “supposed” transphobia is overshadowed by the blatant ageism that Mr. Scheetz uses in the article. Young whippersnapper
sfhairy
Were transwomen ever, ever able to give birth? No. Transwomen are chemical and surgical women. They are not a natural woman, they weren’t and will never be able to birth a real baby or get or be denied an abortion. No matter how many times they scream transphobia, they will not be and were never biological women. Now, I stand with transwomen and transmen in that they should have equal rights, just like everyone. Instead of whining, they should be supporting real women who truly face discrimination that they will never face.
abfab
Only Carole King is a Natural Woman. Now will everyone just STFU and go outside and play!
John Raymond Barker
It’s transmen (and non-binary people who can get pregnant) who deal with abortion rights and issues. Transmen (and non-binary people)have (by accident, but some by choice for personal reasons that need no debate) gotten pregnant and deal with these issues. That’s what makes this all the more frustrating for those affected. It’s not actually transwomen vs women with regards to the Dobbs decision-but the article Bette referenced does tackle that unfortunate divide by some feminists.
Kangol2
@sfhairy, you have completely missed the point that nonbinary people who can give birth may possess the physiology to do so but do not consider themselves “women,” in which case the comment about “not a natural woman” or transwomen doesn’t apply. As for transmen, some can give birth, but they do not consider themselves “women,” so again, the term wouldn’t apply. It may be tough to grasp but I think this what the terminology aims to convey.
alexpof
trans people: dont go watch her movie and thats it, stay bitter and ofended in your homes
IvanPH
I’m canceling cancel culture by watching HP 2 and renting all her movies now!
mferrera7466
This is why the left in this country loses. (I am a leftie and a long time LGBTQ+ activist and a counselor for trans youth starting 25 years ago). This is a case od people turning someoneâs statement into what they want it to mean so they can attack. Give me a break people! This woman was singing in bathhouses in the 70s! She is not a TERF or at all opposed to trans people, as she clearly stated and shouldnât have to. The cancellers, the word and thought police, you are not achieving anything.
John Raymond Barker
Despite of your years of experience (which is awesome btw), you haven’t lived the trans experience. I haven’t. Bette hasn’t. We are all in this fight together–at least we should be–and I would agree that our enemies don’t know the differences between the letters in LGBTQ+, but despite being group together, we need to recognize that while there may be parallels, the lived experiences of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals (and pansexuals and asexuals). And that is furthered by race and gender identity. People are not twisting her statement—she referenced an article that used language that has a very clear history in what those words are being used for. She may not be a TERF (God, I hope she isn’t). But she has stepped into TERF ideas with her tweets. Furthermore, she did not do herself good will by taking a defensive, haughty tone about her allyship. That’s like a person saying I have Black friends. One never stops learning/unlearning.
Kangol2
Stop claiming this is “the Left,” which is both intellectually lazy and incorrect. Just admit you do not understand or agree with the terminology and be done with it. It’s OK not to agree with it, it’s OK to support Bette Midler if you do, but to use this online uproar as a platform to yet again attack “the Left,” which confuses one group of people engaged in a cultural argument with broader Left politics, is just pathetic. In the end, do you think Bette Midler is going to stop supporting LGBTQ people or liberal political positions because some trans and nonbinary people are trying to educate her about terminology? I also doubt she’ll run right into the arms of right-wing rhetoric (“cancellers,” “thought police,” etc.) either, like you just did. Give us a break!
LumpyPillows
Sadly, this is the new left. They are unhinged, easily offended and vicious. They do hurt us in elections. It does tie back to other really bad leftist ideas, like defund police. It’s the same people.
There is a problem with the left. I mean, when you tell them defund police is a bad idea, they tell you you don’t understand that it doesn’t really mean defund police, while all they should really do is just stop saying it. They will smugly refuse. They will twist logic and language to stubbornly defend losing positions. It is infuriating…because it costs us politically. Same with trans women are women – the same broken logic that they have made dogma.
It is the left – which is why I have moved to the center. Be careful, if the republicans start fielding moderates in democratic districts, a long shot but possible, democrats could really be screwed. And then we lose everything.
nunya
Trans women are not women otherwise there would be no need to put the qualifier trans in front of the word. There I said it. Crucify me.
John Raymond Barker
By your logic, a gay man is not a man.
John Raymond Barker
@LumpyPillows Here to burst your bubble. I agree that “Defund the Police” was a failure–the phrase, but not the ideas that were poorly represented by that phrase. The idea that police officers should not have to handle emergency calls for issues they have not been trained in is an idea that truly should be considered proPolice and proBLM. We should want to set our police force up for success–not overwhelm them by having to wear so many hats. Let social workers and mental health professionals handle certain situations. It’s only a win-win for all. Now, if that reads as “unhinged” or “vicious”, well maybe you are the one who is “easily offended”. đ