{"id":56352,"date":"2026-06-03T15:34:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T15:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=56352"},"modified":"2026-06-03T15:34:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T15:34:51","slug":"barry-manilow-reveals-bette-midlers-1970-loyalty-to-the-gay-community-in-a-12-word-vow-defying-critics-she-loved-them-when-the-rest-of-the-world-ignored-their-suffering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=56352","title":{"rendered":"Barry Manilow Reveals Bette Midler\u2019s 1970 Loyalty To The Gay Community In A 12-Word Vow Defying Critics: “She Loved Them When The Rest Of The World Ignored Their Suffering.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry Manilow is reflecting on Bette Midler\u2019s earliest days in New York, remembering a time when her bond with the gay community was not a publicity strategy, but the heart of her identity as an artist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before Midler became a global star, she was performing at the Continental Baths in 1970, a gay bathhouse in New York City where Manilow played piano for her. The setting was unconventional, but it became the birthplace of an extraordinary career. Night after night, Midler sang for an audience that understood her humor, her theatricality, and her emotional honesty before the rest of the world fully caught on.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Manilow\u2019s recollection, Midler never treated that community as a stepping stone. She saw the men who filled those rooms as family. At a time when gay audiences were often mocked, ignored, or pushed to the margins, Midler gave them glamour, comedy, vulnerability, and respect. Her performances were bold, funny, and deeply human, creating a space where people could feel seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

The vow now associated with that era captures the loyalty Manilow says defined her: \u201cShe loved them when the rest of the world ignored their suffering.\u201d Those words speak not only to her early success, but to the emotional foundation behind it. Midler\u2019s rise was built alongside queer audiences who championed her long before mainstream fame arrived.<\/span><\/p>\n

That loyalty became even more meaningful during the AIDS crisis, when fear and silence surrounded the disease. As many public figures hesitated, Midler remained connected to the community that had embraced her. She used her growing fame to bring attention to their pain, refusing to let their suffering be erased.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now 80 and long established as one of entertainment\u2019s most enduring figures, Midler\u2019s legacy is tied not only to her voice, comedy, and stage presence, but also to her refusal to abandon the people who helped shape her. For Manilow, those early nights at the Continental Baths revealed the truth of who she was: an artist whose ambition was matched by loyalty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bette Midler did not simply perform for the gay community. She stood with them, celebrated them, and carried their love with her into every stage of her career.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry Manilow is reflecting on Bette Midler\u2019s earliest days in New York, remembering a time when her bond with the gay community was not a publicity strategy, but the heart of her identity as an artist. Before Midler became a global star, she was performing at the Continental Baths in 1970, a gay bathhouse in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56352"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56368,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56352\/revisions\/56368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}