Connie Chung, 78, recalls being 'sexually molested' by 'monster' family doctor in new memoir

Connie Chung, 78, recalls being 'sexually molested' by 'monster' family doctor in new memoir Have YOU got a story? Email [email protected] By Jacqueline Lindenberg and Clemence Michallon and Hannah Parry For Dailymail.com Published: 01:46 BST, 18 September 2024 | Updated: 01:46 BST, 18 September 2024 e-mail View comments Connie Chung candidly penned about being 'sexually molested' by her family doctor in her new book, Connie: A Memoir, which was officially released on Tuesday.

The acclaimed journalist, 78, previously opened up about the assault in 2018 in an open letter to Christine Blasey. However, in her memoir, the TV personality further reflected on the harrowing incident. 'I was sexually molested by our trusted family doctor,' Chung wrote, according to Us Weekly.



She continued, 'But what made this monster even more reprehensible was that he was the very doctor who had delivered me on August 20, 1946.' Connie Chung, 78, candidly penned about being 'sexually molested' by her family doctor in her new book, Connie: A Memoir, which was officially released on Tuesday; seen in 2016 in Beverly Hills Read More Maury Povich, 84, and wife Connie Chung, 77, at Daytime Emmys While studying at university at the time, she made an appointment to see the family doctor - who has since passed away - in order to get 'protection from pregnancy.' Chung recalled that it had also been her first time getting a gynecological exam.

'Not understanding or knowing what he was doing, I stared at the ceiling,' she penned in the memoir. 'With his right index finger, he massaged my clitoris. Simultaneously he inserted his right middle finger in my vagina,' Connie said, and added he began 'coaching' her during the assault.

'Suddenly, to my shock, for the first time in my life, I had an orgasm. My body jerked several times.' Chung shared what happened next and wrote, 'Then he leaned over, kissed me, a peck on my lips, and slipped behind the curtain to retreat to his office area.

I did not say a word. I could not even look at him.' In 2018, the journalist went public with the assault for the first time in a letter to Christine Blasey Ford which was published in the Washington Post.

Shortly after, Connie recalled in her memoir that one of her sisters had contacted her and revealed they were also molested by the same family doctor. 'Sometimes I wonder if that incident served to toughen me up so that I could handle any blatant sexual situations. I was no longer naïve in that department.

' She continued, 'But what made this monster even more reprehensible was that he was the very doctor who had delivered me on August 20, 1946'; seen in 1977 in Beverly Hills Chung shared what happened next and wrote, 'Then he leaned over, kissed me, a peck on my lips, and slipped behind the curtain to retreat to his office area. I did not say a word. I could not even look at him'; seen earlier this month in NYC In her 2018 letter, Connie had written that she had been 'terrified' to publicly come forward with her own experience of sexual assault.

After the incident, she said she 'may have told' one of her sisters about the assault at the time, but added that she 'certainly' didn't tell her parents, nor did she consider pursuing charges against the doctor. 'I did not report him to authorities. It never crossed my mind to protect other women.

' She then explained that she was 'embarrassed about her sexual naivete' and this made her want to simply 'bury the incident in her mind and protect her family.' In order to avoid visiting the doctor ever again, Chung says she told her mother, who 'could not read or write English,' that the medical professional lived 'too far away' from their home and they should therefore stop seeing him. Chung, who married television personality Maury Povich in 1984, said she later told her husband about the incident but cannot recall exactly when she brought up that she had been abused.

She continued in her letter that the haunting memory of the abuse remains fresh in her mind. However, Connie said she believes her abuser died almost 30 years ago, in his 80s, which would suggest he was in his 60s when the incident occurred. In her 2018 letter, Connie had written that she had been 'terrified' to publicly come forward with her own experience of sexual assault; seen in 1972 in Washington D.

C. During a recent interview with Us Weekly, Connie explained that sitting down and penning the memoir had been a 'catharsis' for her. 'I realized that I had to really sift through stuff that I didn’t necessarily want to live through again,' she told the outlet.

'I discovered that the original source of the word catharsis was a medical term, and it was expunging your body of unwanted waste. I realized that I was really expunging my body of that waste that I didn’t want to have anything to do with.' She added, 'At my age, all I want is a good bowel movement.

So, there I was saying to myself, "Oh, this feels really good just to spill it." Get it all out.' In the book, Chung also reflects on her successful journalism career - which she later put on hold after adopting her son, now 29, when she was nearly 50-years-old.

Connie notably became the first Asian American and second woman to co-anchor a national evening newscast, and also worked for networks such as ABC, CBS and NBC over the years. She reported on Watergate and has conducted interviews with stars and well-known individuals such as Marlon Brand and Bill Clinton. During a recent interview on NBC's Today while promoting Connie: A Memoir, the star reflected on being told at the beginning of her career that she would not make it as a journalist by a network executive.

Chung, who married television personality Maury Povich in 1984, said she later told her husband about the incident but cannot recall exactly when she brought up that she had been abused; seen with Maury in 2023 in L.A. During a recent interview with Us Weekly, Connie explained that sitting down and penning the memoir had been a 'catharsis' for her; seen (right) in 1983 with Jane Pauley (left) 'I was not only a woman, but I was Chinese,' she explained, and talked about working alongside white men.

'Usually it was a "he" who had delusions of grandeur, who talked too much, whose heads you couldn't fit inside Madison Square Garden.' 'I decided I'd be a guy,' Connie said. 'I would have bravado, I'd have moxie, I had a bad, sassy mouth.

' The journalist's memoir officially hit shelves on Tuesday, September 17 under Grand Central Publishing. Share or comment on this article: Connie Chung, 78, recalls being 'sexually molested' by 'monster' family doctor in new memoir e-mail Add comment.