Anchor Chris Matthews Out at MSNBC Amid Allegations of Sexual Harrassment
Chris Matthews, battling allegations of sexual harassment amid a series of gaffes that displeased his liberal following, has been ousted at MSNBC.
On his show Monday, Matthews framed his departure as a retirement.
“Let me start with my headline tonight: I’m retiring. This is the last ‘Hardball‘ on MSNBC,” Matthews said as he began his show.
“And obviously, this isn’t for the lack of interest in politics. As you can tell, I loved every minute of my 20 years as host of ‘Hardball.’ Every morning I read the papers and I’m gung-ho to get to work,” he added.
“Not many people have had this privilege. I love working with my producers and our discussions we have on how we report the news. And I love having this connection with you, the people who watch.”
Matthews hinted that the departure was not all his own idea.
“After conversations with MSNBC, I decided tonight will be my last ‘Hardball.’ So let me tell you why. The younger generations out there are ready to take the reins. We see them in politics, in the media and fighting for their causes,” he said.
Matthews then touched on the issue of allegations of sexual harassment against him, saying that the workplace of 2020 has “better standards than we grew up with — fairer standards. A lot of it has to do with how we talk to each other.”
“Compliments on a woman’s appearance that some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were OK were not OK, not then and certainly not today. And for making such comments in the past, I’m sorry,” he said.
GQ columnist Laura Bassett, who in a recent article accused Matthews of sexual harassment based on an incident in 2016, was unmoved by his comments.
“All I gotta say is… it’s about time,” she tweeted.
All I gotta say is… it’s about time.
— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) March 3, 2020
Some were cynical about the retirement.
“Matthews has been dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct on his show for years now, including a separation-relation payment made to a staffer in 1999,” Spectator USA Washington editor Amber Athey said according to Fox News.
“The only reason the left is giving weight to these claims now is because they don’t like that he’s gone after Elizabeth Warren’s insistence that we must reflexively believe all women.”
Twitter buzzed over the departure of Matthews, who had been a fixture on MSNBC:
Weird how Chris’ supposedly inappropriate compliments on women’s appearances did not end his career until just after he ripped on socialism and Bernie Sanders.
Matthews’ sin was not #MeToo
It was criticizing a Democrat from the right. https://t.co/7T2tApcAdR
— Political Sock (@PoliticalSock) March 3, 2020
“Why haven’t I fallen in love with you yet? said Chris Matthews.
That’s the kind of remark that can get your career ruined. No touching. No threatening comment. Just comments like that.
Back in the day, when America was sane, that was called flirting. pic.twitter.com/sFlhl2djpP
— Gunner (@BladeAndTrigger) March 3, 2020
Tonight Chris Matthews announced his retirement from “Hardball”… pushed out by the “PC” police…
— Jon Tucci (@jon_tucci) March 3, 2020
When the liberals eat their own like a python swallowing a rat, I get “a thrill up my leg.” #MeTooFodder #ByeByeLiberalLapdog #HardballThis https://t.co/dstVe8nvGw
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) March 3, 2020
Remember the role that women played in this! For @ewarren for pushing back in that terrible interview and, above all else, @LEBassett for speaking out. Your courage is inspiring, Laura! https://t.co/P4QPdJUzdk
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) March 3, 2020
Matthews had been a target of the left in past days.
On a recent show, he said that in his view, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont had the Democratic presidential nomination all but won, and compared the suddenness of the victory to the lightning-fast German victory over France in 1940, leading to claims that he was likening the campaign of Sanders, who is Jewish, to the Nazis.
On Friday, Matthews mixed up two black South Carolina politicians, confusing Democrat Jaime Harrison, who is running for the U.S. Senate, with Republican Sen. Tim Scott.
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