Bette Midler sang a different tune after she insulted the whole state of West Virginia Monday in a tweet aimed at Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
The Grammy-winning “Wind Beneath My Wings” singer voiced her anger at Manchin for saying he would not support Build Back Better legislation, scuttling Democrats’ $2 trillion measure that would fight climate change, expand Medicare benefits and lower the cost of child care.
But Midler didn’t stop there.
“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.”
Midler’s fans and critics clapped back against the “stereotyping,” calling her broadside “hateful” and disappointing.
About 40 minutes later, the “Hocus Pocus” star wrote that she was sorry to West Virginians. But not to Manchin.
“I apologize to the good people of WVA for my last outburst,” she said. “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!”