Midler to Rivera: Apologize for alleged sexual assault

LOS ANGELES » Bette Midler renewed an allegation of 1970s sexual misconduct against Geraldo Rivera on Thursday, a day after Rivera called the news business “flirty” amid Matt Lauer’s dismissal by NBC.

In the tweet posted by the actresssinger and confirmed by her publicist, she included a video from the 1991 interview with Barbara Walters in which Midler made the allegation against Rivera.

“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,” Midler posted, adding the harassment-solidarity hashtag “#MeToo.”

A representative for Rivera didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Fox News Channel, which currently employs Rivera but didn’t in the ‘70s, didn’t immediately comment on Midler’s post.

In the clip, Midler hesitates in recounting what she alleges happened with Rivera during his visit to interview her in the early 1970s, saying it will get her in trouble. “Get in a little trouble,” Walters encourages her.

After Rivera and a producer left their TV crew in another room, they “pushed me into my bathroom. They broke two poppers and pushed them under my nose and proceeded to grope me,” she said. “Poppers” is slang for the alkyl nitrites class of drugs.

“I did not offer myself up on the altar of Geraldo Rivera,” said Midler, calling his behavior “unseemly.”

After Midler tells Walters that she had no way of knowing “these things are going to come back to haunt you,” Walters suggests they discuss other subjects.

Midler came to prominence at the start of the ‘70s, which included the release of her debut album “The Divine Miss M.”

Walters opened up the topic by