Bette Midler once told Barbara Walters that Geraldo Rivera had groped her in the 1970s

Bette Midler once told Barbara Walters that Geraldo Rivera had groped her in the 1970s

FOOTAGE has resurfaced of Bette Midler telling Barbara Walters how TV icon Geraldo Rivera allegedly sexually assaulted her in her bathroom before an interview in the 1970s.

The video of the 1991 interview emerged after Rivera defended NBC anchor Matt Lauer — one of the most famous TV anchors in the US — who was sacked by the network for allegedly sexually inappropriate behaviour.

During the interview, Midler told Barbara Walters about the alleged incident after the veteran journalist asked about Rivera’s claim that he and Midler had a sexual encounter, People reports.

“Geraldo and his producer came to do an interview with me, in the ’70s, the early ’70s,” Midler said. “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 (the recreational drug) and pushed them under my nose and proceeded to grope me.”

In the footage, Walters looked shocked as she asked, “Grope…?”

In a sign of changing attitudes towards sexual harassment and assault, the interview did not cause a scandal when it aired over 20 years ago.

In a controversial tweet posted after Lauer’s sacking, Rivera described the news industry as “a flirty business” and called the former Today host a “great guy”.

He then appeared to dig himself even deeper with a second tweet that posed the question: “If News wasn’t (formerly) a flirty biz then how do we explain so many newsroom courtships that have led to happy marriages?”

Midler has not yet commented on the footage, People reported.

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