Bette Midler sat down for an interview with Barbara Walters back in the 1991 and revealed she was sexually assaulted by attorney and journalist Geraldo Rivera. Midler to Barbara Walters (1991) Her story resurfaced after Rivera decided to tweet this, According to 'People,' Fox News issues a statement, Rivera did confess – in a 1991 Washington Post memoir – to touching Midler inappropriately.