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Home / Entertainment

Bette Midler slammed for 'racist, xenophobic' Melania Trump tweet

By Kathy Skantzos
news.com.au·
11 Nov, 2020 12:13 AM3 mins to read

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A native of Slovenia, Melania is the second First Lady in history to be born outside of the US and is the only First Lady to become naturalised as a US citizen after marrying. Photo / Getty Images

A native of Slovenia, Melania is the second First Lady in history to be born outside of the US and is the only First Lady to become naturalised as a US citizen after marrying. Photo / Getty Images

US actress and singer Bette Midler has copped an earful on social media for again mocking Melania Trump's accent on Twitter.

It's not the first time the politically outspoken star has attacked the First Lady, after calling her an "illegal alien" in another tweet.

The latest tweet, which received hordes of backlash from Twitter users, shows a photo of the First Lady on the phone with a Christmas tree in the background.

The caption says: "DO I STILL HAV TO DU DIS FU***** CHRISTMAS DING?" – making a mockery of her Slovenian accent.

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Some of the angry responses on Twitter included: "Are you seriously slating someone for their accent????"

Bette Midler apologised after an earlier tweet mocking Melania Trump's accent.
Bette Midler apologised after an earlier tweet mocking Melania Trump's accent.

Another said: "She speaks 6 languages fluently, she is intelligent and has been given a raw deal by most people and all of the media. She does not deserve that or your rhetoric."

A native of Slovenia, Melania is the second First Lady in history to be born outside of the US and is the only First Lady to become naturalised as a US citizen after marrying.

Melania is multilingual, speaking French, Serbian, German, Italian and English as well as her native Slovenian.

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This isn't the first time Midler has attacked the First Lady's accent.

At the Republican National Convention in the US in August, Midler mocked Trump on Twitter, saying: "Oh, God. She still can't speak English."

Midler followed up that controversial tweet with another: "#beBest is back! A UGE bore! She can speaker several words in a few languages. Get that illegal alien off the stage!"

The actress' remarks were slammed as "xenophobic" by many Twitter users.

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One user said, "You are so much better than making fun of someone's foreign language skills… I certainly felt your xenophobic insults in my multilingual soul. Let's be better together."

Another Twitter user responded by posting: "My – how 'classy' of you to disparage the accent of someone born in a foreign country."

Midler apologised for her remarks in a follow-up tweet, posting: "Well, all hell has broken loose because I said Melanie 'still can't speak English' last night.

"I was wrong to make fun of her accent. America is made up people who speak with all kinds of accents, and they are all welcomed always."

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