Cher owed New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand an apology today after she posted a tweet confusing Gillibrand for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who she called a “fake Democrat” and “traitor.”
In her typically disjointed style of tweeting, the actress and music icon apologized Monday afternoon to both Gillibrand and residents of New York.
Cher was trying to call out Sinema, a Democratic senator from Arizona, for her resistance to back a motion to get rid of the filibuster, a decades-old practice in lawmaking that currently bars Democrats from passing sweeping voting rights legislation and other progressive reforms. Cher also attacked West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, another outspoken supporter of the filibuster.
Instead, Cher accidentally took aim at Gillibrand, one of the senators who’s actually been openly supportive of calls to abolish the filibuster. In early March, Gillibrand told the Washington Post, “I’m of the view that we should eliminate the filibuster despite all the risks.”
The original tweet by Cher was up for a little while before she deleted it, but there’s a copy on the WayBack Machine internet archive here.
Cher originally tweeted: “Joe Manchin & Kirsten Gillibrand Aren’t Democrats They’re TRAITORS.If There Is Any Way 4 NEW YORKERS 2 KICK HER OUT OF SENATE They Must Try Be4 She Hands Our Country 2 trump & His Criminals. These Fake Democrats Are Single Handedly Sabotaging PRES.BIDEN’S Plans 2 Help Us.”
Cher should have taken a minute to give a little more love and understanding to Gillibrand — or at least a quick Google search of the senator, which would have brought up articles like the Washington Post’s showing how she and Gillibrand are actually on the same side.
Sinema has faced her fair share of criticism in recent months for her position on the bill, as has Manchin. In the first week of June, Sinema faced backlash for being absent the day the senate voted on a bill that aimed to create a formal commission to investigate the Jan. 6 mob attacks on the Capitol; Sinema said she didn’t attend the vote because of a “personal matter.”
Cher had to apologize for another tweet a couple months ago, after she posted a message implying she could have stopped George Floyd’s death if she was there — which most people deemed to be in poor taste.
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