The 48-year-old comedian encourages women to speak up if they're ever put in a situation they know isn't right.
Sarah Silverman is opening up about an uncomfortable visit to the doctor's office.
The 48-year-old comedian took to Instagram, sharing a story about how she had "a shitty time" at her mammogram appointment on Wednesday when the male radiologist made her feel awkward.
"I have to get an ultrasound after my mammograms because I have dense breasts (insert joke here) and this radiologist -- the same man I had last year -- I do not like him and here is why," she began. "He opened my gown and put gel on my breasts and smeared it around with his bare hands. Then he started talking to me about my chest X-ray (I also got a chest X-Ray) and was pontificating with my boobs just out and covered in gel and cold and finally I said, 'Hey, can we either talk about this when I’m dressed or WHILE you're doing the ultrasound? I’m not comfortable with my breasts out just shooting the shit with you."
"So, he smears the gel on with his hands and NO GLOVES on and when he glides the ultrasound wand thing over my breasts he drags his fingers on them and it f**king bothers me," she adds. "Again, AS I TOLD HIM LAST YEAR, I said, 'Hey! Do you need to be touching me with your fingers?' He said 'No.' And he pulled them off of me. Then he added, 'I do that for balance.' I said, 'Well I believe in you and I think you can do [this] without your fingers on me."
Silverman continues on, explaining that while she doesn't think he was "getting off on it," it's his job as a professional to be aware that this is "vulnerable" for a woman. She also suggested he "wear f**king gloves" because "this isn't a date."
"For him to be so arrogant that he didn’t even internalize the problem when I said something to him about it last year is obnoxious and probably a subconscious power thing if we’re getting deep," Silverman says. "That was my last mammogram with this dude. Or any dude."
"Look. I’m a grown woman and I’m fine. But this guy does this with everyone and I know that personally it took many years into adulthood before I spoke up for myself," she adds. "It’s uncomfortable and too easy to think it’s all in your head. And arrogant f**ks like this doctor take advantage of women’s socialized instinct to not speak up."
Silverman ended her post by encouraging all women to speak up if they're ever put in an uncomfortable position. "Trust that thing in your gut that tells you this s**t ain’t right," she advises.
Of course, Silverman has also shared her positive experiences with medical professionals. Back in 2016, she revealed she almost died after learning she had epiglottitis, a life-threatening condition where the tissue surrounding the windpipe becomes inflamed, blocking air to the lungs.
ET spoke with the surgeon, Dr. Rob Huizenga, who performed an emergency operation on Silverman. "Epiglottitis can be a fatal disease, because this tissue is sitting right on top of your windpipe," he explained. "If it swells from a burn or an infection, suddenly the whole mechanism of getting air from your mouth into your lungs is closed off unless you literally put a tube past that blockage into the lung."
"It can be very freaky and very scary because you're awake and alert, but because the tube goes through your vocal cords, you can't phonate," he added. "You can't make any sounds. You can't talk."
Hear more in the video below.
RELATED CONTENT:
