Gray, best known for her 1999 hit song “I Try,” seemed to anticipate the backlash during an appearance that aired Monday on Fox Nation’s “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”
“I will say this and everyone’s gonna hate me but as a woman, just because you go change your (body) parts, doesn’t make you a woman, sorry,” Gray said after Morgan brought up the issue of trans athletes in sports.
“Right, you feel that?,” Morgan responded.
“I know that for a fact,” Gray replied.
“Being a little girl is a whole epic book, you know? And you can’t have that just because you want to be a woman,” she told Morgan, later adding, “I don’t think you should be labeled transphobic just because you don’t agree.”
Midler similarly sparked controversy when she tweeted on Monday, “WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name!”
“They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators, and even ‘people with vaginas’!,” her tweet reads. “Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!”
Both of their comments did not go over well.
“What is it about ‘womanhood’ that TERFs (a term defined as a feminist who excludes the rights of transgender women from their advocacy of women’s rights) like macy gray and bette midler are so desperate to cling to?” writer Arielle Tschinkel tweeted. “Trans women existing doesn’t make me any less of a woman, no matter how different our experiences may be. it’s just ridiculous at its core honestly.”
Critics are accusing Bette Midler and Macy Gray of serving up antiquated transphobic views à la J.K. Rowling on social media. In a tweet, Midler, a beloved actress, expressed her distaste for language like “birthing people” “menstruators, ”and “people with vaginas.” To her, using it erases female identity and undermines female bodily autonomy. “Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!” Midler wrote. Gray, an R&B singer, struck a similar nerve during her appearance on Piers Morgan’s show Uncensored, saying trans women aren’t real women: “I will say this, and everyone’s gonna hate me, but as a woman, just because you go change your [body] parts, doesn’t make you a woman, sorry.” After Morgan mentioned Rowling, she agreed that nobody should be called transphobic for “just saying what it is.” Social media users, including some trans women like British broadcaster India Willoughby, have unilaterally said both entertainers remarks were unwarranted and problematic.
Bette Midler in September 2019. (Michael Nagle / For The Times)
Bette Midler became the center of a heated debate after tweeting a message for the “women of the world” about the inclusive language used when discussing reproductive healthcare.
The actor and singer, who is known for being active and vocal on Twitter, took to social media on Monday to express her ire that “women” are seemingly no longer called “women.”
“We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name!” tweeted Midler. “They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators’, and even ‘people with vaginas’! Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!”
Although Midler did not specify exactly who she meant by “they,” it appears to include anyone who uses inclusive language such as “pregnant people” or “patients seeking abortions” in conversations around reproductive rights. Responses from those denouncing Midler’s assessment of the use of such language was swift.
“Derry Girls” actor Siobhán McSweeney succinctly responded, “This isnt true,” while “RuPaul’s Drag Race U.K.” alum Crystal explained, “The fight for women’s rights INCLUDES trans people — trans rights do not erode women’s rights.”
“We’re all fighting this together and this trans-exclusionary rhetoric does NOTHING to help that,” tweeted Crystal. “Bette Midler is a woman. Some other people who give birth are not women. That’s ok!”
Professor and author Chanda Prescod-Weinstein tweeted that Midler’s assertion is “heartbreaking” because “The point of the anti-choice movement is to try and control the bodies of people assigned female at birth, including trans men, and force gender identities and gender roles on *all* of us.
“Cis women have nothing to lose and everything to gain by acknowledging the links between the anti-abortion movement and transphobia, which are all about attacking bodily autonomy in support of patriarchal supremacy,” Prescod-Weinstein added.
Abortion rights advocates and organizations including Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union have moved toward using more inclusive and accurate language around reproductive healthcare to recognize that trans and nonbinary people also seek such care. Organizations such as the Trans Journalists Assn. have noted that “it is important to remember that people who are not women do get pregnant and do get abortions” in their best practices on language used in news coverage.
Some of those opposing the use of inclusive language argue that phrases such as “pregnant people” exclude women because the word “women” is not used or that it reduces people to their biology, with some insinuating this “erasure” is just as egregious as denying people their reproductive rights.
Others who also expressed their support of Midler’s comments include those who push for antitrans language and policies because they believe a person’s sex assigned at birth is the only thing that matters.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Bette Midler sparked immediate alarm with her tweet. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Bette Midler has sparked alarm among LGBTQ+ fans after she claimed “women” are being “erased” by trans-inclusive language.
The Hocus Pocus star, 76, brought up trans rights as she fumed over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, all but eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion after almost 50 years.
She tweeted to her 2.1 million followers: “WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name!
“They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore; they call us ‘birthing people’ or ‘menstruators’, and even ‘people with vaginas’! Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!”
WOMEN OF THE WORLD! We are being stripped of our rights over our bodies, our lives and even of our name! They don’t call us “women” anymore; they call us “birthing people” or “menstruators”, and even “people with vaginas”! Don’t let them erase you! Every human on earth owes you!
— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) July 4, 2022
Twitter users were dismayed that Bette Midler decided to parrot anti-trans dog whistles at a time when at least half of US states are poised to remove the right to an abortion.
Many urged the beloved Hocus Pocus 2 actor to use her “common sense” and reconsider her remarks.
Legendary Irish drag queen Dr Panti Bliss-Cabrera said: “No. Don’t fall for the anti-trans panic fake nonsense. No one is erasing women.
“In a few small healthcare cases where appropriate they are using trans inclusive language. That’s all.”
“The fight for women’s rights INCLUDES trans people – trans rights do not erode women’s rights,” said RuPaul’s Drag Race UK icon Crystal.
“We’re all fighting this together and this trans-exclusionary rhetoric does NOTHING to help that. Bette Midler is a woman. Some other people who give birth are not women. That’s OK!”
“Mate don’t fall for this word game nonsense,” tweeted Katy Montgomerie, an English feminist and trans woman. “Trans people just want the same rights you want.”
Or as Derry Girls actor Siobhán McSweeney simply put it: “This isn’t true. xxx.”
When it comes to healthcare, simple changes in language can make all the difference in the lives of trans men and non-binary people.
Bette Midler. (SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images)
Medical experts have stressed how important gender-neutral language is to ensure that trans men and non-binary people are not excluded from vital medication information around maternity, smear tests, cancer treatments and more.
Trans men and non-binary people often fear going to the hospital for treatment. And they have their reasons: they’re often met with a healthcare system that “disempowers”, researchers say.
As staff are not always trained to support them, trans men and non-binary people fear discrimination, being misgendered or refused help altogether.
This gap in knowledge can be deeply harmful. A case study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2019 of described a trans man who went to an emergency room with severe abdominal pain.
Nurses assumed he was obese when in reality he was pregnant – he delivered a stillborn baby several hours later.
But an increasing number of anti-trans critics have slammed healthcare officials for encouraging staff to use phrases such as “birthing people” alongside women or co-parent when treating LGBTQ+ patients, among other inclusive terms. Often claiming that using gender-neutral terms all but “erases” women when it isn’t actually the case.
One healthcare provider in England, the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, released the country’s first-ever clinical guidelines for supporting trans people in 2021.
“If we only use gender-neutral language, we risk marginalising or erasing the experience of some of the women and people who use our services,” the guidance explains.
“We understand the fear of erasure, however marginalising other groups because they are rare will not improve care for women. We believe in human rights-based care and we can add inclusive language to our current language without subtracting anyone.”
The black flame candle has been lit once more, and that can only mean one thing: our first look at the long-awaited sequel to Hocus Pocus is here.
This morning Disney dropped the first footage from Hocus Pocus 2, set to debut on Disney+ in a few months. The short and sharp teaser doesn’t give us much, but it does give us a fleeting look at the cackling return of the legendary Sanderson sisters Winifred, Sarah, and Mary, played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, respectively.
Teaser Trailer | Hocus Pocus 2 | Disney+
Directed by The Proposal’s Anne Fletcher, Hocus Pocus 2 is set 29 years after the events of the 1993 fantasy classic, and sees some young high schoolers light the fabled Black Flame Candle once more, resurrecting the trio of 17th-century witches to cause havoc on modern day Salem. Now, it’s up to them to stop the Sanderson sister’s quest for revenge before dawn rises on Halloween.
As well as the returning Midler, Parker, and Najimy, Hocus Pocus 2 stars Star Trek: Discovery’s Doug Jones, Tomorrow War’s Sam Richardson, Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham, Veep’s Tony Hale, and more. Check out a frightful new poster for the film below!
Image: Disney
G/O Media may get a commission
Hocus Pocus 2 hits Disney+ on September 30.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
“BTW, here are the state rankings of all the areas and agencies for which the so-called “Governor” of WVA, #JimJustice, is responsible,” Midler responded in tweet Friday, including a photo of West Virginia’s rankings from the US News & World Report’s “best state” list — where it finishes 47th in the country.
“Judging from these rankings, I’d say his dog’s ass would make a better Governor than him!” she added.
At the end of his State of the State address on Thursday, Justice name-checked Midler, seemingly because she had tweeted last month that West Virginians were “poor, illiterate and strung out” in response to West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s opposition to President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan. Midler later apologized for the tweet.
The Republican governor said in his speech that people “never believed in West Virginia” and “told every bad joke in the world about us,” before lifting up his family’s bulldog, Babydog, and showing off her behind.
“And so, from that standpoint, Babydog tells Bette Midler and all of those out there, ‘kiss her hiney,'” he said.
While the moment from Justice got much laughter and cheers, West Virginia House Minority Whip Shawn Fluharty, a Democrat, on Twitter called it a “stunt” that was “nothing short of embarrassing and beneath the office.”
Bette Midler bit back at West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Friday, a day after he held up his dog’s rear end and said she could kiss its “hiney” following his State of the State speech.
“I’d say his dog’s — would make a better Governor than him!” the “Wind Beneath My Wings” singer tweeted, along with an unsourced chart showing the state ranking near the bottom on education, health care, infrastructure and the economy, compared to other states.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice holds Babydog, his English Bulldog, during his State of the State address, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022, at the Capitol in Charleston. (Associated Press)
Justice’s remarks were a response to a previous Midler tweet, in which she called the state “poor, illiterate and strung out” over her frustration with U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who essentially sunk his party’s voting rights bill by refusing to go around the Senate filibuster. Midler later apologized for the tweet after a backlash.
WV GOVERNOR JUSTICE TELLS BETTE MIDLER’ TO ‘KISS HIS DOG’S HINEY’
Bette Midler is seen in Washington, D.C., Dec. 5, 2021. (Getty Images)
“I apologize to the good people of WVA for my last outburst,” she wrote online Dec. 20. “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 also retweeted posts that said “Here we can see a dog’s ——-. Right next to it is the butt of Jim Justice’s dog” and “Way to go, Jim Justice! Nothing like proving Bette Midler right on national television. Did you REALLY show us your dog’s ——-? REALLY? Thanks for conforming to all our worst stereotypes about Southern dum— men.”
Justice said in his speech that people had doubts about his state before his dig at Midler, which prompted a standing ovation.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“They never believed in West Virginia. They never believed in West Virginia — that we could do it,” he said, touting the state’s accomplishments, including two recently announced economic development projects.
WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden celebrates artists including Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell and Lorne Michaels on Sunday at the Kennedy Center Honors, bringing back presidential participation in the annual ceremony skipped by Republican Donald Trump.
Singer Justino Díaz and Motown founder Berry Gordy round out the group of artists selected by the Kennedy Center for top honors this year at a show that had been upended by politics and the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden, a Democrat who took over from Trump in January, held a black-tie ceremony for the five honorees at the White House ahead of the event in Washington, the sort of glamorous celebration that has become rare in a White House that has eschewed large gatherings in the COVID-19 era.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to reuters.com
Register
Trump did not hold such a reception during his four years in office and did not attend the show at the Kennedy Center itself.
The arts community largely did not object to that absence. Singer and actress Cher, an honoree in 2018 and an outspoken Trump critic, said she would have had to accept the award in a bathroom if Trump had come.
The awards recognize a lifetime of achievement in the performing arts.
Midler, a singer and actress, has received Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe awards for a career spanning decades, with album sales exceeding 30 million around the world.
Singer-songwriter Mitchell, a native Canadian known for songs such as “Both Sides, Now” and “Big Yellow Taxi,” is a multi-Grammy recipient and an inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Michaels, also a native of Canada, is the creator and executive producer of the long-running NBC sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live.”
“If you can’t laugh at yourself, we’re in real trouble, and you make me laugh at myself a lot,” Biden said in remarks addressed to Michaels, noting the show has used seven comics to play him over the years.
Comedy and other art forms and cultural exports help the United States lead by the power of its example worldwide, the president said.
“Throughout my career, I’ve met nearly every world leader,” he said. “And I’ll tell you, not everyone sees satire that way. You’d all be in jail.”
Diaz, a bass-baritone opera singer from Puerto Rico, has performed with opera companies around the world.
Gordy, a songwriter and record producer from Detroit, founded the Motown record label that became synonymous with a jazz- and blues-influenced musical sound popularized by Black artists including Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Lionel Richie, whose careers he helped shape. Gordy is also a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to reuters.com
Register
Reporting by Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Peter Cooney
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
