Actress and singer Bette Midler is facing a storm of backlash on social media following comments she made regarding the state of West Virginia, and ostensibly, its residents.
The post was shared on Twitter, purportedly in response to West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s announcement of his decision to oppose President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, and reads as follows,
“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.”
Many users responding to the post came to the defense of the residents of the Mountain State, pointing out that such a broad generalization fails to recognize that many West Virginians are, in fact, honest, hard-working folks, unworthy of such defamation. Others referred to the state’s low-standing in several national statistics including mortality, education, and infrastructure.
Less than an hour after her initial post, Midler issued an apology via the social media platform. Changing course, the actress attempted to empathize with West Virginia residents, but doubled down on her criticism of Manchin, tweeting,
“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!”
Senator Manchin’s announcement of his intention to vote “no” on the Build Back Better legislation has been the subject of national scrutiny, as a “no” vote would tip the dead-heat Senate vote in favor of those opposed, a demographic made up largely of Republican representatives.
“I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” Manchin remarked in a statement to Fox News on Sunday.
Some sources indicate the cost of the sizable piece of legislation to be $2 trillion, while others have estimated it to be as high as $5 trillion if certain extensions were to be implemented. President Biden has reiterated his intentions to pursue the passing of the bill – for which a vote is to be held in January – in spite of Senator Manchin’s opposition.