Icetruck.tv News Blog
Entertainment

Bette Midler tweets her #MeToo story of Geraldo Rivera allegedly groping her

bette-miidler-geraldo-rivera-gty-jpo-171130_12x5_992

Bette Midler tweets her #MeToo story of Geraldo Rivera allegedly groping her in the 1970s

PlayGetty Images FILE

WATCH Bette Midler tweets her #MeToo story

    Bette Midler has tweeted a video of an interview she did with Barbara Walters in 1991 in which she said journalist Geraldo Rivera groped her in the 1970s.

    The video resurfaced today, a day after Rivera, now a Fox News reporter, defended Matt Lauer after he was fired as a "Today" show co-host over allegations of sexual misconduct.

    "Tomorrow is my birthday," Midler wrote on Twitter. "I feel like this video was a gift from the universe to me. Geraldo may have apologized for his tweets supporting Matt Lauer, but he has yet to apologize for this."

    Midler concluded the tweet with a #MeToo hashtag, which has become synonymous with speaking out against sexual harassment and abuse.

    Tomorrow is my birthday. I feel like this video was a gift from the universe to me. Geraldo may have apologized for his tweets supporting Matt Lauer, but he has yet to apologize for this. #MeToo pic.twitter.com/TkcolFWfA2

    — Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) November 30, 2017

    Geraldo Rivera sorry for calling news business 'flirty' Matt Lauer responds to allegations of 'inappropriate sexual behavior' after NBC termination

    In the interview, Midler tells Walters, "Geraldo and his producer came to do an interview with me, in the '70s, the early '70s. And this was when he was very, sort of, hot. And he and his producer left the crew in the other room. They pushed me into my bathroom. They broke two poppers and pushed them under my nose and proceeded to grope me."

    "Poppers" is slang for the recreational drug alkyl nitrite.

    "Grope?" Walters asks, looking surprised.

    Midler responds, "Groped me. I did not offer myself up on the altar of Geraldo Rivera. He was … he was unseemly."

    A representative for Midler told ABC News that she had no further comment beyond her tweet.

    Rivera's representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

    In a review of his 1991 memoir, "Exposing Myself," The Washington Post quoted a line from the book, in which he said, "We were in the bathroom, preparing for the interview, and at some point I put my hands on her breasts."

    Recently, Rivera came under fire after he called the news business "flirty" in the wake of Lauer's ouster over sexual misconduct allegations. "If News wasn't (formerly) a flirty biz then how do we explain so many newsroom courtships that have led to happy marriages?" he tweeted.

    Sad about @MLauer great guy, highly skilled & empathetic w guests & a real gentleman to my family & me. News is a flirty business & it seems like current epidemic of #SexHarassmentAllegations may be criminalizing courtship & conflating it w predation. What about #GarrisonKeillor?

    — Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) November 29, 2017

    This issue is so red hot right now there is no room for any thought or opinion but hang em high. If News wasn't (formerly) a flirty biz then how do we explain so many newsroom courtships that have led to happy marriages?

    — Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) November 29, 2017

    In response to his comments, Fox News issued a statement saying, "Geraldo's tweets do not reflect the views of Fox News or its management. We were troubled by his comments and are addressing them with him."

    Rivera later apologized. "Reaction to my tweets today on #sexharassment makes clear I didn't sufficiently explain that this is a horrendous problem long hidden," he wrote.

    Reaction to my tweets today on #sexharassment makes clear
    I didn't sufficiently explain that this is a horrendous problem
    long hidden-Harassers are deviants who deserve what is coming
    to them-Often victims are too frightened to come
    forward in a timely fashion-I humbly apologize

    — Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) November 30, 2017

    Lauer also issued an apology today, saying "some of the allegations are "untrue or mischaracterized" but "there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed and ashamed."

    • Star


    Source – abcnews.go.com

    Leave a Comment