West Virginia Governor Jim Justice Has Vulgar Message For Bette Midler

You may have noticed that politics in America have gotten, well... a little weird in recent years. And thanks to the wonders of social media, anyone can join in the national conversation, including Hollywood and Broadway legends like Bette Midler, who's now in a full-blown feud with the governor of West Virginia, Jim Justice. It all started when Midler decided to weigh in on the hullabaloo happening in the Senate, specifically over Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. 

Taking to Twitter in late December 2021, as Senate Democrats were still hashing out the Build Back Better Act, Midler gave Manchin a piece of her mind, insulting the entire state of West Virginia in the process. Accusing the senator of trying to move the country backward, she tweeted, "He sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate and strung out." It's hardly a shock that the residents of the state took exception to Midler's characterization, and she later apologized. 

But wait — it gets weirder when you hear Justice's response.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, was clearly none too pleased with Bette Midler's assessment of his state and the people who reside there. On January 27 (more than a month after Midler's original tweet and apology), Justice clapped back at the musical theater icon during his State of the State address, according to the New York Post, with the help of his dog. Yes, his dog. 

Hoisting his (probably very confused) bulldog into the air so that the cameras got a good view of its bum, Justice declared, "Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those out there: Kiss her heinie." He continued, "Absolutely too many people doubted us. They never believed in West Virginia." But don't you worry, because Midler had a response. Taking to Twitter once again, she wrote, "BTW, here are the state rankings of all the areas and agencies for which the so-called 'Governor' of WVA, #JimJustice, is responsible," alongside a graph. "Judging from these rankings, I'd say his dog's a** would make a better Governor than him!"

In case you don't follow politics very closely and you were curious, no, it is not standard practice for politicians to bring their pets to official speeches, much less offer up their booties for celebrities to kiss. But, like we said, politics in America are weird these days.