'There was no intention of anything exclusionary': Bette Midler hits back at fans who accused her of being transphobic after she blasted terms 'birthing people' and 'menstruators'

The actress, 76, sparked anger on Monday by saying that women were 'being erased' with the use of words such as 'birthing people'

She later took to Twitter to clarify her words were in response to a New York Times opinion piece

She added she's 'fought for marginalized people for as long as [she] can remember'

Bette's original tweets had sparked critics to accuse her of being transphobic

She was accused of being transphobic, and critics rushed to point out that it did not need to be a choice between supporting women or trans people

Martina Navratilova, one of the first openly gay sportswomen, backed Midler however, joking: 'Careful Bette- you will be called transphobic too or worse…'