Bette Midler apologizes to West Virginia for calling state 'poor, illiterate, and strung out' in Joe Manchin slam

Bette Midler is issuing an apology for remarks about West Virginia after an "outburst" against Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Midler on Twitter slammed Manchin over his announcement that he wouldn't support President Biden's Build Back Better agenda, writing that what he has "done to the rest of America, who wants to move forward, not backward, like his state, is horrible." The Hocus Pocus star added, "He sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate, and strung out."

Midler quickly received criticism for her tweet, which she followed up by apologizing to "the good people of [West Virginia] for my last outburst." She asked of Manchin, though, "Is he really the best [West Virginia] has to offer its own citizens? Surely there's someone there who has the state's interests at heart, not his own!"

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Midler's original comments drew backlash both from the left and the right, with Donald Trump Jr. saying "this is exactly what they think of good hardworking Americans that live outside of their elite bulls--t NY/LA bubbles," while The Young Turks host Ana Kasparian wrote that West Virginians "overwhelmingly support the social spending package" that Manchin came out against and that "directing hate toward them is terrible."