Bette Midler turned 71 Friday, and one of her first birthday gifts came from Geraldo Rivera.

The Fox News host tweeted an apology for events of the early 1970s — when Midler says she was groped by Rivera and a producer.

In 1991, Midler told Barbara Walters: “Geraldo and his producer came to do an interview with me in .. the early ’70s. This was when he was very, sort of hot. 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.”

Rivera on Friday morning tweeted twice in response to Midler.

Rivera wrote: “27 years ago I wrote a tawdry book depicting consensual events in 1973-45 years ago — I’ve deeply regretted its distasteful & disrespectful tone & have refrained from speaking about it — I’m embarrassed & profoundly sorry to those mentioned — I have & again apologize to anyone offended.

He followed that with: “Although I recall the time @BetteMidler has alluded to much differently than she, that does not change the fact that she has a right to speak out & demand an apology from me, for in the very least, publically embarrassing her all those years ago. Bette, I apologize.”

All this was triggered by Rivera tweets defending Matt Lauer.

“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?” Rivera said.

Refinery29.com also notes that Midler shared the story with a Vanity Fair reporter, Kevin Sessums, in 1991.

“He didn’t rape me, but it was close,” Sessums told Entertainment Tonight that Midler had said. At that time, the Associated Press reported that Rivera called Midler’s allegations “preposterous.”

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