- Cover of The Divine Miss M
Mister D: I remember the Larry King appearance and I was so disappointed…not in Bette, but with the Gay Left who wouldn’t shut up because she didn’t have a pat answer and wanted to think a little more about it before making a statement. Nothing wrong, in my opinion, with being thoughtful. Anyway, the turnout couldn’t have been any better. So to all the naysayers, just shut up, when it comes to Bette, the lady likes to think!
Southern Voice
Midler for marriage
June 11, 2009
BETTE MIDLER seems to have made an about-face on the issue of gay marriage – in support of the matter.
It may come as a surprise to her legions of gay fans that The Divine Miss M originally balked at speaking out in favor of marriage equality. In a 2003 interview with Larry King, he asked her to go on the record about the issue, but her response seemed terribly tepid: “I don’t know,” she stammered. “I don’t want to offend anybody. I like everyone; I want everyone to be happy. I just don’t know what it means.”
Granted, she got her start by singing in bathhouses (with Barry Manilow playing piano!), so it’s understandable if that tarnished her views of gay monogamy.
Nevertheless, she has changed her tune. The famously political Midler still says she doesn’t want to get involved (“To tell you the truth, I’m not on the front lines,” she said), but she voiced her support of the issue.
“I’m all in favor of gay marriage,” she said. “I think it’s fabulous.”
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=2f5f59a8-f192-4f88-960d-1e0537f162bb)
I think you are right Mister D. Everyone should think before you speak! But maybe that’s bad for other people! Personally I think that Bette is a great person! I never would say something against the gay community. Bette does not have much to worry about, if someone speaks bullshit of “THE DIVINE MISS M”, all the “BETTEHEADS and all “bootlegbetty”…….No doubt we will defend
love from México
I’m so relieved she finally got that “straight”…
You’re so clever!!! 🙂
“the lady likes to think”… one of the MANY reasons we adore her so much!
I was disapointed in Miss M at the time. I think it came from her conservative upbringing. The way she lives, raised Sophie, has a long-lasting marriage, shows you there are more than a dash of tradition in The Divine One. I really wanted a more up-front and supportive aproach like Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s. Take a look on her Tweets about the subject:
“There is no such thing as a “Gay” agenda. It’s a human agenda. The California Supreme Court decision on Prop. 8…TERRIBLE!!!!”
6:30 PM May 27th from web
“It’s a shame more public servants don’t have San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s courage in speaking out against Prop 8. Go Gavin!”
6:50 PM May 27th from web
“I think it’s terrible for the California govt to retract the law on Gay Marriage after they made it legal. You can’t treat people that way!”
2:08 PM May 28th from web
Anyway, Bette doesn’t need to agree with me all the time for me to adore her. First and formost, I respect people’s views and their own time for understanding a matter.
Marcos.
It’s okay to be disappointed, but she only knew one way about gays practically growing up with them and it was never mentioned to her by them, so I can see why she wanted to study up on it. When I met up with her a couple of years after that she had made her mind up by then…..scolding me for forgetting my own anniversaries…..
The way I remember that whole Larry King incident, she was basically non-opinionated on the subject. The gay backlash came from gays who were angry because she said something to the effect of,
MIDLER: It’s a real dilemma, but I think it’s a dilemma to a lot of people. I don’t think it really hurts anybody. I think — I think — to tell you the truth, my — my — many, many, many of the homosexual men that I know — I can’t speak for the women because — the way I feel — the women, they can look at each other from across a crowded room, and suddenly, they’re mates for life. You know, they — you know, they’ll go out for a Coke, and they’ll just be, you know, move in, and that’ll be the end of it. But gay men, they like to — you know, they like to move around. They like to have — you know, they’re — that’s part of it. That’s part of the fun of being a gay man. So if they’re married, does that mean they’re not going to cheat, they’re only going to be with one…
This pissed off the gays. As a drag queen for seventeen years and a gay man for 34, I feel that Midler hit the nail on the proverbial head.
Gracie