Summary: Television star Larry King adamantly denies ever groping anyone and will pursue legal action of his own against such allegations.
The ex-wife of late singer Eddie Fisher has accused television and radio host Larry King of groping her. Terry Richard, 63, revealed her accusation in an interview with The Daily Mail, a UK-based gossip site, published on Monday. King, 84, responded to her allegation with a statement to PEOPLE. His attorney stated that King “flatly and unequivocally denies these claims.” He will use legal action to “prove that they’re utterly false.”
The former Miss Louisiana 1973 claims that King groped her in 2005 and 2006 when they were posing for pictures. She said in the interview that the first time he touched her he slid his hand down her backless dress and put his fingers between her butt cheeks. In the second incident, he allegedly squeezed her buttocks hard enough to bruise her when they were taking another photo.
She told the Mail, “Larry King is a groper. He groped me twice. He gets a thrill doing this in front of the camera, knowing I couldn’t do anything.”
Richard claims she met King in 2004 when she told him she was Fisher’s fourth wife. She claims King wanted her on his show but she explained she needed to finish her book first. They took a photo together along with her son.
She claims the first incident happened when she worked for the Tolucan Times. She was covering a basketball awards show at Universal Studios, Los Angeles. They took a photo together on the red carpet. “Larry put his hand behind me on my back and as the photographer was taking out picture Larry slid his hand down from the middle of my back to putting his hand inside of my dress and it ended up with about three or four fingers in the crack of my a**, resting in the crack of my a**,” she claims. “He just stuck it in… I don’t know how he got [his hand] in there, but he did. I couldn’t believe it. I was so shocked. I froze. I let out a ‘squelch.”
She stated that King had a “big smile on his face.” She wanted to slap him but refrained.
King denies the allegations, stating they are “entirely and unequivocally false and defamatory.” He is also calling out The Daily Mail for publishing a false report. “Your publishing this false and defamatory statement will be actionable and highly damaging.”
Fisher had five wives during his lifetime before he died in 2010. Richard was his fourth wife. They were only married for a year.
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To learn more about other television and movie personalities accused of sexual misconduct, read these articles:
- Dustin Hoffman Accused by Three Women of Sexual Harassment
- Celebrity Chef Todd English Accused of Sexual Harassment, Allowing Rape Culture
- Matt Lauer Responds to Sexual Assault Allegations
Photo: Daily Mail TV