CLOSE Sex sells in music, but Bette Midler isn't impressed. USA TODAY's Arienne Thompson thinks the veteran star's smackdown of newbie Ariana Grande is spot-on. (Daily Dish, USA TODAY) 
 
 The backlash to Bette Midler's tweet declaring women 'the n-word of the world' was fast and hot. (Photo: ANGELA WEISS, AFP/Getty Images) 
 
 Bette Midler is known for speaking her mind, but a now-deleted tweet has landed her in hot water. Now, she is apologizing for it. 
 
 In the controversial tweet Thursday, the "Hocus Pocus" actress, 72, wrote "women, are the n-word of the world." 
 
 She continued: "Raped, beaten, enslaved, married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance; enduring the pain and danger of childbirth and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years They are the most disrespected creatures on earth." 
 
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 In a now-deleted tweet obtained by USA TODAY, Bette Midler said Thursday: “'Women, are the n-word of the world.' Raped, beaten, enslaved, married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance; enduring the pain and danger of childbirth and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years They are the most disrespected creatures on earth." (Photo: USA TODAY) 
 
 After mass backlash and calls for the tweet's deletion, Midler obliged three hours later and issued an apology. 
 
 “The too brief investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh infuriated me. Angrily I tweeted w/o thinking my choice of words would be enraging to black women who doubly suffer, both by being women and by being black,” she wrote Thursday night. “I am an ally and stand with you; always have. And I apologize.” 
 
 The too brief investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh infuriated me. Angrily I tweeted w/o thinking my choice of words would be enraging to black women who doubly suffer, both by being women and by being black. I am an ally and stand with you; always have. And I apologize. — Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) October 5, 2018 
 
 Her controversial quote paraphrases the title of a song written by Beatles member John Lennon and Yoko Ono from their 1972 album "Some Time in New York City." The song was problematic during its release nearly five decades ago, and the reception of Midler's tweet is no different today. 
 
 Her post instantly sparked outrage, with many arguing it erases the struggle of black women and is blatantly disrespectful to the African-American community in light of social issues in our country. 
 
 Midler's post amassed more than 8,000 (mostly critical) comments and 14,000 likes before it was deleted. Atlantic reporter and former ESPN analyst Jemele Hill simply said: "Full stop." 
 
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 Rosa Clemente, a Green Party candidate during the 2008 election and the first Afro-Latina to run for vice president, said Midler's tweet "shows lack of knowledge on issues of race and concept of intersectionality." 
 
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 To use this saying which has been deconstructed and deemed offensive to African-Americans in this country shows lack of knowledge on issues of race and concept of intersectionality. It also denies Black women agency. I would urge you to read Bell Hooks, June Jordan. — Rosa A. Clemente (@rosaclemente) October 5, 2018 
 
 User @NoisyAstronomer, a self-proclaimed "feminist," said Midler's tweet is quite "awful." She continued: "We HAVE to do better than this or we uphold the very systems of oppression that we are railing against." 
 
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 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 
 
 
 
 Please stop. I am 100% a feminist but this is quite is awful. It erases the struggles of black women in particular. 
 
 
 
 We HAVE to do better than this or we uphold the very systems of oppression that we are railing against. — Nicole Gugliucci, Doctor of the Sky (@NoisyAstronomer) October 5, 2018 
 
 @j_yvonnes said it's "disappointing" to see the quote is still being used today: "Women are highly disrespected - but don't displace the atrocities that were done to black people by using that quote," she wrote. 
 
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 Sighs...its so disappointing to see you use that quote. Women are highly disrespected - but don't displace the atrocities that were done to black people by using that quote. — Jasmine Y Stephen (@j_yvonnes) October 4, 2018 
 
 Another user, @dvnfgn, vowed to boycott Midler's iconic Halloween film: "When Hocus Pocus comes on later this month..." 
 
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 When hocus pocus comes on later this month... pic.twitter.com/Xm33mldg9p — R'illest (@dvnfgn) October 5, 2018 
 
 In a follow up tweet, which was also deleted, Midler acknowledged that she offended many people but noted it was not about race: "'Women are the...etc' is a quote from Yoko Ono from 1972, which I never forgot. It rang true then, and it rings true today, whether you like it or not. This is not about race, this is about the status of women; THEIR HISTORY." 
 
 In a now-deleted tweet obtainted by USA TODAY, Bette Midler offered an explanation behind her previous tweet that sparked controversy. She said Thursday: "I gather I have offended many by my last tweet. 'Women are the...etc' is a quote from Yoko Ono from 1972, which I never forgot. It rang true then, and it rings true today, whether you like it or not. This is not about race, this is about the status of women; THEIR HISTORY." (Photo: USA TODAY) 
 
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– Bette Midler had a rough Thursday on Twitter, and it all started with her paraphrasing Yoko Ono. In a now-deleted tweet that you can see at USA Today, the 72-year-old wrote, "'Women, are the n-word of the world.' Raped, beaten, enslaved, married off, worked like dumb animals; denied education and inheritance; enduring the pain and danger of childbirth and life IN SILENCE for THOUSANDS of years They are the most disrespected creatures on earth." USA Today reports the more than 8,000 comments her tweet gathered over the next three hours were mostly negative, with many arguing, as @NoisyAstronomer puts it, that it "erases the struggles of black women in particular." Journalist Jemele Hill's reaction was simply, "Full stop." Midler's initial reaction wasn't to apologize. In a second now-deleted tweet, she wrote, "I gather I have offended many by my last tweet. 'Women are the...etc' is a quote from Yoko Ono from 1972, which I never forgot. It rang true then, and it rings true today, whether you like it or not. This is not about race, this is about the status of women; THEIR HISTORY." The title of Ono's song is "Women Are the N----- of the World," and the Washington Post reports it was largely kept off the radio at the time. In Midler's case, the critics eventually won out. After three hours, the post was pulled and she tweeted this: "The too brief investigation of allegations against Kavanaugh infuriated me. Angrily I tweeted w/o thinking my choice of words would be enraging to black women who doubly suffer, both by being women and by being black. I am an ally and stand with you; always have. And I apologize."