Bette Midler, who has been selling hit records since the 70s, is not too impressed with rising pop star Ariana Grande.

Bette Midler Slams Ariana Grande

Midler’s latest album It’s the Girls is a compilation of covers from The Chiffons and The Marvelettes to TLC’s “Waterfalls.” TLC is the most current group that Midler covers on the album. Modern pop music and the sexed-up personas – like that of Grande post Disney – do not appeal to Midler .

“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.”

“It’s not my business, I’m not her mother. Or her manager,” Midler added. “Maybe they tell them that’s what you’ve got to do. Sex sells. Sex has always sold.”

While Midler acknowledges that sex appeal has long been a commodity in the entertainment industry, she believes that there’s a lack of standards and boundaries that have given way to absurd, “sexy” gimmicks.

“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,” Midler said. “I mean, don’t ask me. It’s beyond me. I’m too old. I don’t know what the end game is going to be. I don’t know where you go from all that sex in your twenties. I don’t know how you sustain it.”

What’s Midler’s advice for young female artists trying to make their way and also have longevity in the industry? “Trust your talent. You don’t have to make a whore out of yourself to get ahead. You really don’t.”

Midler’s It’s the Girls came out earlier this month. She’ll be touring on the album in both the US and the UK, starting off with a concert in Hollywood on May 8.