Princewill Pius
Chris Matthews’ shocking exit comes mere days after a slew of embarrassing on-air moments, including comparing presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders’ campaign to the Nazi invasion of France. Matthews had also recently come under fire for his “condescending and disbelieving tone” during a recent post-debate interview with Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren.
Additionally, on Feb. 28, 2020, GQ published an op-ed by journalist Laura Bassett titled: “Like Warren, I Had My Own Sexist Run-In with Chris Matthews.” In the piece, Bassett wrote that Matthews “has a pattern of making comments about women’s appearances in demeaning ways,” adding that, at one point, before a televised discussion, Matthews had asked her “Why haven’t I fallen in love with you yet?”
A source told The Post that the weekend before the Hardball host’s retirement announcement, MSNBC network executive Phil Griffin told Matthews “he had to resign or retire immediately” (via Page Six). During his announcement, the political host apologized for past insensitive comments, alluding to some of what Bassett touched on in her piece. “Compliments on a woman’s appearance, that some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were OK, were never OK,” Matthews said, adding, “Not then, and certainly not today. And for making such comments in the past, I’m sorry.” Bassett took to Twitter to seemingly comment on Matthew’s announcement, writing, “It’s about time.”
According to Variety, the MSNBC show will likely have a “rotating group of anchors” fill in until the network names a permanent replacement.
Written by: Nicki
