Bette Midler has come under fire on social media after joining the ‘women’ of the world’ debate. The Hocus Pocus star, 76, was met with fury as she shared a controversial appeal, claiming women are no longer referred to by that term, but are instead called ‘people who give birth’, ‘menstruating people’ or ‘people with vaginas’ . In the said post, which is still visible on her page, she told her 2.1 million followers: “WOMENS OF THE WORLD! They are taking away our rights to our bodies, our lives and even our names! “They don’t call us ‘women’ anymore.” They call us “people who give birth” or “menstruates” and even “people with vaginas”! “Don’t let them turn you off! Every person on earth owes you!” Many were outraged by the tweet and flooded Bette’s responses below, insisting the women weren’t being ‘turned off’ and urging her to ‘do better’. WOMEN OF THE WORLD! They are taking away our rights to our bodies, our lives and even our names! They don’t call us “women” anymore. they call us ‘people who give birth’ or ‘menstrual people’, even ‘people with vaginas’! Don’t let them turn you off! Every person on earth owes you! — bettmiddel (@BetteMidler) July 4, 2022 ‘No. Don’t fall for the false anti-trans panic nonsense. No one erases women,” one replied. “In some small health care cases, where necessary, they use inclusive trans language. That’s all.’ ‘Groan. No one deletes the word “woman”. These terms are used to be more inclusive,” wrote another. “I thought you stood up for LGBT+ people.” Bette came under fire from fans for the tweet, which is still visible on her page (Image: Getty) “No one is erasing us cis women and girls, instead by including trans men and non-binary people we are stronger in the fight for bodily autonomy and appropriate accessible reproductive health for all,” one follower commented. One fan said: “Inclusion is not deletion. Please do better.” “It’s because not only women menstruate, give birth or have vaginas,” one Twitter user added. “Trans men do all these things, and so do non-binary people. “I love you so much, Bette, but you have to do better here.” The Hollywood icon has yet to respond to the backlash.

It’s not the first time Bette’s tweets have left fans unimpressed, as she was previously forced to apologize for a comment she made about Caitlyn Jenner in 2016. Following the cancellation of the Olympian’s reality series I Am Cait, the actress shared a now-deleted tweet questioning whether she would be “returning to [Caitlyn’s deadname]and remarry ex-wife Kris Jenner. DEAR FRIENDS @HRC WHOM I ALWAYS SUPPORTED. SORRY LAST TWEET OFFENDED,” he then posted. “A PERFECT MUSIZATION. I SEEM TO HAVE MISREADED THE AUTHORITY OF THE TIMES.’ Metro.co.uk has contacted Bette’s representatives for a comment. Do you have a story? If you have a celebrity story, video or photos, please contact Metro.co.uk’s entertainment team by emailing us at [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or visiting the Submit information page – I’d love to hear from you you. MORE: Love Island 2022: How does Gemma Owen know Casa Amor’s Billy Brown? MORE: WWE star Big E gives major update on broken neck recovery as he confirms he’ll need more scans in 2023