Duterte’s spokesman calls US actress Bette Midler ‘gullible talking head’

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo returns fire by saying movie star is ‘incompetent’ and has no right to comment

Midler had included Duterte on a list of infamous strongmen in a warning to fellow Americans

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Published: 4:55pm, 24 Nov 2019Updated: 10:51am, 25 Nov 2019

A Philippine official on Sunday lashed out at US actress Bette Midler for naming President Rodrigo Duterte as one of the world’s most notorious leaders, calling her “incompetent” and “a gullible talking head”.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Midler, who has been a critic of Duterte and described him as a “murderous dictator” in a tweet in 2017, had no right to criticise the Philippine leader.

“She has the right to criticise in her country as an exercise of her freedom of expression,” Panelo said. “She however has no right as she is incompetent – and a gullible talking head as well – on matters concerning foreign leaders she has no personal knowledge of.”

On Saturday, Midler included Duterte on a list of notorious world leaders in a tweet that called on Americans to take interest in the impeachment inquiry under way into US President Donald Trump.

“For Americans who think the impeachment hearings have nothing to do with them, think again. Want to leave the door open to a Hitler? A Stalin? A Castro? A Duterte? A Pol Pot? A Putin? An Assad? A Chavez? A Kim Jong-un? A Mussolini? A Mugabe? An Amin? Trump’s the gateway to that,” she tweeted.