Bette Midler Steals Tonys Show With Epic ‘Shut That Crap Off’ Speech
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Dave Goldiner June 12, 2017
No one could shut down Bette Midler at the Tony Awards — not even the orchestra.
After scooping her first ever acting honor, the feisty “Hello Dolly!” actress kept right on going even as the band tried to play some music to cue that her time on stage was up.
“Shut that crap off,” Midler said to roars from the rapt audience.
Midler went on for a healthy four minutes in all, paying homage to trailblazing women actresses and even suggesting that Broadway can help the nation in troubled times.
“This thing can lift your heart in these terrible, terrible times,” she said.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
