Add Bette Midler to the Mayim Bialik camp of celebrities who wish Ariana Grande would put some clothes on and stop writhing around. On her recent trip to England to announce a massive U.K. tour, Midler aired her grievances with Grande in an interview with The Telegraph. It all boils down to what Midler and the newspaper call the "pornification of pop music."
"It's terrible! It's always surprising to see someone like Ariana Grande with that silly high voice, a very wholesome voice, slithering around on a couch looking so ridiculous," Midler told The Telegraph. "I mean, it's silly beyond belief, and I don't know who's telling her to do it. I wish they'd stop. But it's not my business. I'm not her mother. Or her manager. Maybe they tell them that's what you've got to do. Sex sells. Sex has always sold."
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The paper asked Midler if sex has sold even more as of late. "Well, whatever strictures there were have fallen apart. And now, it's whatever you feel like doing, you can do. I mean, apparently people really like to pretend they're having sex. They really like to slap each other's butts. I mean, don't ask me. It's beyond me. I'm too old. I don't know what the endgame is going to be. I don't know where you go from all that sex in your 20s. I don't know how you sustain it."
Well, it is nice of Midler to worry about Grande's career longevity. And, she did offer some advice for all the trussed-up twentysomethings in the music biz. "Trust your talent. You don't have to make a whore out of yourself to get ahead. You really don't."
We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's really starting to feel like we won't be blessed with an ear-splitting duet of "Wind Beneath My Wings" with Bette Midler and Ariana Grande anytime soon. (The Telegraph)