Bette Midler: Women N-Word Tweet

Bette Midler got in big trouble on Twitter.

She wrote, and later deleted:

"Women are the n-word of the world." 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.

What was she thinking?

I suppose she should be treated like Roseanne Barr, since that's apparently the appropriate response. She should spend days being pummeled in the media for the offensive tweet. Her career should be destroyed.

Although Barr apologized promptly for her tweet, that wasn't enough. She became a pariah within hours, losing her show, the greatest achievement of her career.

Will Midler receive the same treatment?

Midler sort of issued an apology on Twitter hours later, more of an explanation, which she also later deleted.

I gather I have offended many by my last tweet. "Women are the...etc" is a quote from Yoko Ono from 1972, which I never forgot. It rang true then, and it rings true today, whether you like it or not. This is not about race, this about the status of women; THEIR HISTORY.

I can't stand the double standard.