Washed up, has-been former singer Bette Midler trashes West Virginia in unnecessary Twitter rant
Chad Wyrick
3 min read
She’s sorry for dissing you — from her Hollywood Hills mansion.
Singer Bette Midler apologized to the people of West Virginia after firing off a frustrated tweet aimed at Democratic senator Joe Manchin, who continues to block President Biden’s infrastructure plan in Congress.
“What Joe Manchin, 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,” the “From a Distance” singer tweeted Monday. “He sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate and strung out.”
According to U.S News & World Report, West Virginia ranks 47th in the nation in health care, 45th in education, and dead last in infrastructure. Still, some of Midler’s fans on social media took issue with the Divine Miss M’s sweeping generalization of folks in the Mountain State.
Twitter user Bonnie Shannon, who says she’s also one of Manchin’s constituents, claims she share’s Midler’s disappointment with Machin. But she said she also can read, has money, isn’t hooked on meth, and notes that polls show that most of her neighbors want clean air and improved infrastructure.
“I’m from WV. I’m not illiterate, poor or strung out! I’m very upset with Manchin!” she tweeted. “Many are struggling and they keep voting against their own best interest. Over 68% of WV support the BBB! If more understood what is in the BBB that number would be higher.”
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
Midler, who was born in Hawaii, recently sold her penthouse on the Upper East Side and has a home in Millbrook, N.Y. She took back her earlier tweet.
“I apologize to the good people of WVA for my last outburst. I’m just seeing red,” she tweeted. “Joe Manchin 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!”
While Manchin’s deep ties to his state’s coal industry have been scrutinized, the 74-year-old senator stands accused of no criminal activity. CNN reports that the $491,000 he made from his holdings in the West Virginia energy company Enersystems more than doubled his annual $174,000 Senate salary. CelebrityNetWorth puts his value at $8 million.
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