UPDATE A publicist for the movie writes: “Bette Midler couldn’t make tonight’s special screening due to previous commitments out of the country not for any other reason. We’d known about these committments since the beginning of our campaign, which is why we did full days of press with her before she left.”
Where is Bette? She couldn’t change her schedule to promote her film? She doesn’t make that many these days.
EARLIER
The invite for tonight’s screening of “The Fabulous Four” is very specific: Join Susan Sarandon and Sheryl Lee Ralph for the show and a reception.
Not on the invite: Bette Midler, who lives in New York and ordinarily wouldn’t miss the premiere of a film in which she’s the central character.
But as I told you one month ago, we will not be seeing Midler and Sarandon in the same room together.
Since they made the comedy, October 7th happened. Sarandon went full pro-Palestine, even insisting in public speeches that the violence against Jews that day at a music festival didn’t happen.
Midler is Jewish, and pro-Israel. Everything Sarandon has said is untrue and off base. I can’t imagine Midler has any desire to deal with her in any venue.
Sarandon, in fact, has lost her agent and manager over her ridiculous comments. She’s never once mentioned the Jews who were killed or the hostages taken.
Interesting fact: in the last two weeks Sarandon has cooled it on Instagram with the crazy rhetoric. I imagine she’s been asked to do that so that the audience is scared off the film.
Midler, meantime, already gave a big interview on The Today Show last week, by herself. That may be the last we see of her on the PR trail. The movie opens next Thursday night, July 25th.
Here’s my story from June 17th:
