Bette Midler issues apology to West Virginia after publicly calling them ‘illiterate’ and ‘strung out’

Broadway star Bette Midler has publicly apologized to the people of West Virginia for calling them “poor, illiterate, and strung out” in a Tweet on Monday.

Midler, in a Twitter response to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s (D) bombshell announcement that he will not support President Biden’s Build Back Better legislation, took aim at the residents of the state.

The Tweet, which has over 4480 retweets as of Tuesday, read, “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. He sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate and strung out.”

Commenters were quick to respond to the Tweet, and while some empathized with her anger at Senator Manchin, they pointed out that her jabs at the residents of West Virginia were in poor taste. Within 30 minutes of the offending Tweet, Midler walked back her statement in a follow-up Tweet, and apologized to the people of West Virginia.

“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!” Midler said.

Manchin announced on Fox News on Sunday that he could not vote for the Build Back Better plan being proposed by the Biden administration. After weeks of intense negotiations, the bill faces an uphill battle passing through the Senate without Manchin’s support.