Actress Bette Midler was slammed for coming across as "tone-deaf" and "self-absorbed" after she tweeted about learning to use her home appliances and praised "housekeepers" who were hunkered down amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"I never knew my appliances as well as I’m starting to know them. So grateful to #Kenmore and #Maytag," Midler tweeted early on Wednesday. "This is no joke. I salute housekeepers around the globe, doing your best to keep your families well, safe and alive."
The "Hocus Pocus" star has a net worth of roughly $230 million and recently put her New York City penthouse on the market for $50 million, according to Fox News. Despite her wealth, Midler is cooped up at home like other Americans as officials work to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Her followers were quick to criticize her for comparing her lifestyle to theirs.
"And the award for outstanding tweet in a tone-deaf or self-absorbed role goes to..." one user replied.
"It must be hell for you to live like us 'regular' folks!" another follower wrote.
"This is the reason what you celebs say means absolutely NOTHING to us peasants, your highness," a third user replied.
"And you honestly believe you should be telling everyday American's how to live??? You only just now met a damn washing machine.... probably had to read the d---n instruction booklet," another wrote.
Others found Midler's use of the word "housekeeper" to be demeaning.
"I love you @BetteMidler but I’m a homemaker for my family. Not their housekeeper. I feel there’s a big difference," a follower replied to Midler's tweet.
"There is a group other than housekeepers that use appliances as well, we call them 'people,'" another user noted.
The star is yet to defend herself on Twitter.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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