Malacañang on Sunday, November 24, slammed singer-actress Bette Midler for describing President Rodrigo Duterte as one of the world’s most detestable leaders as well as lumping him together with the likes of U.S. President Donald Trump and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
“She, however, has no right as she is incompetent and a gullible talking head as well, on matters concerning foreign leaders she has no personal knowledge of,” said presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
“She should be circumspect as an influencer and should refrain from giving one-sided and judgmental comments on internal affairs of another sovereign state, especially if her references are false narratives coming from the political opposition and some biased media outlets whose agenda is to besmirch President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his administration before the global stage,” he added.
Midler is an outspoken critic of Trump and took to Twitter on Saturday, Nov. 23, her sentiments on Trump’s ongoing impeachment hearings and why it should be a concern for Americans.
“For Americans who think the impeachment hearings have nothing to do with them, think again. Want to leave the door open to a Hitler? A Stalin? A Castro? A Duterte? A Pol Pot? A Putin? An Assad? A Chavez? A Kim Jong Un? A Mussolini? A Mugabe? An Amin? #Trump’s the gateway to that,” the singer said in a tweet.
Panelo, in response, lifted some lyrics from Midler’s song to fire back at her.
“We suggest that she revisit her famous song ‘From A Distance’ and learn from its lyrics that she may look at a foreign leader of a distant country with a positive outlook: ‘From a distance there is harmony & it echoes through the land/ It’s the voice of hope/ It’s the voice of peace/ It’s the voice of every man/ From a distance we are instruments/ Marching in common band/ Playing songs of hope/ Playing songs of peace/ They are the songs of every man,’” Panelo said. (AJPress)
