Bette Midler has issued an apology, after causing offence with a joke about Caitlyn Jenner.
The veteran entertainer caused uproar among her followers on social media over the weekend, when she made a comment that Caitlyn may choose to go “back to Bruce” - the name she was previously known by before coming out as trans - now that her reality show, ‘I Am Cait’, has been axed.
She wrote: “Now that ‘I Am Cait’ has been cancelled, will she go back to being Bruce? Will Kris take him back? Do I smell a re-wedding?!”
Understandably, the joke was not very well received, and it didn’t take long before Bette started taking some heat for her insensitive comment, particularly given that so much of her fanbase identifies as LGBT.
Bette has now deleted her initial tweet, and issued an apology, addressed specifically at The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT advocacy group that both she and Caitlyn have worked with in the past.
In an all-caps post, Bette wrote: “SORRY LAST TWEET OFFENDED. AN IDLE MUSING. I SEEM TO HAVE MISREAD THE TEMPER OF THE TIMES.”
However, others have since insisted that Bette shouldn’t have had to apologise, claiming that her joke didn’t necessarily mean she is transphobic.
This isn’t the first time that Bette’s name has been in a headline alongside the Kardashian/Jenner family.
Earlier this year, she was among those who faced a backlash for criticising Kim Kardashian, when the reality star uploaded a naked selfie on her social media account.
Kim hit back at Bette directly when the ‘Beaches’ actress tweeted she’d have to “swallow the camera” if she wanted to show off a part of her that no one’s seen before, insisting: “I really didn’t want to bring up how you sent me a gift a while back trying to be a fake friend then come at me.”
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"They get that it’s about love, so I think that’s really given me perspective. I think people can deal with it, and they get it."
"I think there are a lot of people who are afraid to be who they are and if I have to sacrifice a little bit of fame and a little bit of success because I’m being 100 percent truthful with who I am, hopefully that will create a paved way for someone else."
"I really want the parents of my audience to see these videos actually. And realise that their reaction influences their kid’s entire experience. Showing them two sides of the coin: this is how it could go or this is how it could go. It’s up to you."
