Bette Midler Sparks Backlash With Racially Insensitive Tweet

[oberliner]

Bette Midler sparked backlash on Thursday after she tweeted that women are "the n-word of the world."

"Women, are the n-word of the world," she wrote in a since-deleted tweet "Raped, beaten, enslaved, married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance; enduring the pain and danger of childbirth and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years[.] They are the most disrespected creatures on earth."

According to USA Today, the tweet received more than 14,000 likes and 8,000 comments (mostly critical) before it was deleted. The remark was also slammed for being racially insensitive.

"Black women have let you know that this is offensive. Are they not women too?" one user wrote. "It is not our job as white women to dismiss black women's experiences and feelings. It's our job to listen and...do better."

https://www.eonline.com/news/974241/bette-midler-sparks-backlash-with-racially-insensitive-tweet

[sfwriter]

1. wow

[IluvPitties]

2. Horrible tweet.

[Autumn]

3. She's a singer, not surprised she would quote Yoko but a dumb move at this time.

There's some truth in this part, especially at this time and in light of the actions by the Senate.

"Raped, beaten, enslaved, married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance; enduring the pain and danger of childbirth and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years[.] They are the most disrespected creatures on earth."

[oberliner]

4. Making that point without the reference to the racial epithet would have been a better move

[Autumn]

5. Yes it would have made one hell of a statement on today's actions.

Today all women were beaten down.

[edbermac]

6. God I forgot about that song by Lennon.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_Is_the_Nigger_of_the_World

[John Fante]

7. It seems like most of the people criticizing Bette had no idea

Last edited Fri Oct 5, 2018, 07:12 PM - Edit history (1)

she was quoting Yoko Ono.

[brush]

10. It was wrong when Ono wrote it too. See link below.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11237969

[John Fante]

11. Hard to take your link seriously when the first

post says, "the entire sentiment is really about white women..."

Yoko Ono = NOT a white woman.

[brush]

12. Who said anything about the first post? Effie Black's post is the one I directed you to.

Read that and stop avoiding the real issue.

[John Fante]

16. My mistake, but I quoted an excerpt from Effie's post.

Yoko Ono is not a white woman. She's a POC who suffered tremendously in her youth due to her minority status. I don't care much from Yoko's quote myself (tries too hard to be provocative IMO), but I'm not buying the white privilege argument either.

[brush]

17. This is the issue. Not that hard to get now is it?

In other words, the entire sentiment is really about white women and how their suffering is supposedly equivalent to the suffering of black people, which is bullshit and also insulting to and dismissive of black women.

[John Fante]

18. Yoko Ono is not a white woman!

How could her sentiment be entirely about white women when she herself isn't one?

[brush]

19. Are you purposely being obtuse? The poster I directed you never said Ono...

is a white woman.

Are you new to DU? Do you not know that each responder is a different person?

[John Fante]

20. Sigh. My post was about the quote being from Yoko.

So why link me to Effie's post? The sentiment in Yoko's quote (echoed by Bette) has NOTHING to do with white privilege. It isn't strictly about white women. Get it now?

PS: The OP is getting exactly what she wanted right now. Sowing division among left-leaning posters is the name of her game. You can have the last word if you'd like. I'm done.

[oberliner]

22. Left-leaning posters should be united in calling out racism

One would think nothing would be less divisive.

[Hekate]

24. Yoko Ono was born and raised in traditional Japan, which means she fought for every ounce of ...

...personal freedom she has. Bette knows this. I know this. I'm sorry you don't.

I don't know a lot about Yoko's bio (and never much cared) but I went to college in the 1960s with a number of women from Japan, and even the most demure-seeming had to have had a spine of steel to escape the 2nd-class existence laid out for her from the moment the midwife said, "It's a girl." So desu nee.

[Tipperary]

25. Thank you.

Sad that no one will pay attention to this.

[Hekate]

27. It's just so much more fun to call each other names than it is to expend the effort to understand...

...any context. And I thought it was only Dubya who lived in the Eternal Now, bereft of all history. I am not looking forward to what is coming to DU in the next couple of weeks.

Bitterly,
Hekate

[John Fante]

29. Bette Midler quoting Yoko Ono isn't racist.

You're a left-leaning poster and I'm Mickey Mouse.

[brush]

28. Swoosh.

[RhodeIslandOne]

8. Saw the thread

Was not surprised at the OP.

[Kingofalldems]

9. Attacking a Democrat again I see....

[Puzzledtraveller]

13. Really, what can a Democrat do and not be held to account?

How far, how much?

[WhiskeyGrinder]

15. Asking someone to do better is not attacking.

[pintobean]

23. Ironic

[WhiskeyGrinder]

14. It's a shitty tweet and I'm glad people are calling her out for it.

I'll tell you right now, though, she's got a social media team, and while she might sign off on things here or there, it's the team of white women working for her that made this happen, too.

[oberliner]

21. That's a good point

Thank you for making it!

[Kentonio]

26. Citation for her having a social media team comprised solely of white women please