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West Virginia Gov Jim Justice slammed for asking Bette Midler to kiss his dog’s ‘heinie’

Justice made the remarks on January 27 while concluding his televised State of the State address

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice brought his British bulldog to his televised State of the State address on January 27 to illustrate his message for Bette Midler who had criticized the state.

To vent out his frustration at the actress, who called the residents of the state “poor, illiterate and strung out,” Gov Justice held up his English bulldog and flashed its backside to the camera.

He then said, “Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those out there: Kiss her heinie. Absolutely too many people doubted us. They never believed in West Virginia … They told every bad joke in the world about us.” The 70-year-old Republican’s action was in response to Midler’s December tweet in which she called West Virginia backward after Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) did not back President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act.

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The 76-year-old comedian had shared on December 20, “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.” However, she apologized soon after a mass outrage.

Meanwhile, Justice’s bizarre stunt baffled many and also attracted harsh words for him. Shawn Fluharty, a Democratic state delegate, said: “The governor brought his Babydog and pony show to the State of the State and pulled this stunt as some bold statement. It was nothing short of embarrassing and beneath the office. Jim Justice habitually lowers the bar of our state. They don’t laugh with us, but at us.”

Midler also fired back at Justice and retweeted a picture of his action on Thursday with a caption that read, “Here we can see a dog’s asshole. Right next to it is the butt of Jim Justice’s dog.” She also shared: “Here are the state rankings of all the areas and agencies for which the so-called ‘governor’ of West Virginia, Jim Justice, is responsible. Judging from these rankings, I’d say his dog’s ass would make a better governor than him!”

Many people online also reacted to Justice’s remarks against Midler as one said, “Proving Bette right!” The second one tweeted, “You just proved her right! http://W.va not big on education.” “West Virginia is near last in the U.S. rankings of education, clean drinking water, and child mortality,” the third one mentioned.

A user wrote, “You prove her right Gov Justice, no one will ever accuse you of having class.” Another user stated: “Thanks for proving her right! If West Virginians want to be taken seriously, they need to elect serious people.” A tweet added: “West Virginia's rankings show the Governor should be more worried about his state than where Bette Midler's lips should be.” Another tweet stated, “One Dog is showing in public that he is an asshole, the other is an innocent bulldog abused in public for political reasons. #jimjustice Insulting the Divine Miss M. #BetteMidler.”

However, there were some who seemed happy with Justice as a supporter tweeted, “I don’t blame him. Why do celebrities insist on using their status to interfere in politics.” The second one wrote, “For Midler, it would be like a mirror.”