Bette Midler brought her feud to another level with Governor Jim Justice on Friday, suggesting his dog’s “ass” would do better as governor after he criticized her with the dog.
As a reply to criticism, Justice revealed his dog’s hiney at his top of the state speech on Thursday and suggested they may kiss his pet’s “hiney.”
The governor is popular for his love for his English bulldog. He has utilized the animal, which he has dubbed Babydog, to increase COVID-19 immunization uptake in his state.
Midler had supposedly enraged Gov. Jim Justice with a tweet against Senator Joe Manchin that was derogatory of West Virginians.
He addressed the critics at the his speech’s conclusion.
“They never believed in West Virginia that we could do it,” Justice said.
“They told every bad joke in the world about us,” he said. “So following that standpoint, Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those out there, kiss her hiney.”
Justice raised Babydog and showed the audience the animal’s behind.
Midler retweeted several articles denouncing Justice for involving his dog’s rear end before making a tweet that specifically addressed his speech.
She uploaded a visual from World Report and US News that showed the rankings of West Virginia in areas like infrastructure, education and health care. It depicted the state’s relatively low ranking on a variety of topics.
“BTW, here are the state rankings of all the areas and agencies for which the so-called “Governor” of WVA, #JimJustice, is responsible,” Midler wrote. “Judging from these rankings, I’d say his dog’s ass would make a better Governor than him!”
Midler published a tweet criticizing Senator Manchin, as well as the people of West Virginia.
“What #JoeManchin, who represents a population smaller than Brooklyn, has done to the rest of America, who wants to move forward, not backward, like his state, is horrible. He sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate and strung out,” Midler wrote.
The actress, noted for her appearances in films such as Hocus Pocus and Beaches, subsequently tweeted, “I apologize to the good people of WVA for my last outburst,” before criticizing Manchin further.
Justice may have sparked outrage by revealing his dog’s rear, but Babydog has become a little celebrity since Jim and his wife first took her to a news conference last year.
The dog was also the face of the vaccine lottery, dubbed as “Do It For Babydog,” and Justice used his pet to encourage people to get vaccinated.
“If you won’t do it for your family, you’ve got to get vaccinated for Babydog. That’s all there is to it,” the governor said last year.