WATCH: MSNBC Host Chris Matthews Resigns After Accusations of Sexism and Harassment
Longtime MSNBC host Chris Matthews announced on air Monday night that he was resigning following a slew of on-air fumbles and allegations that he made sexually inappropriate remarks to a political columnist in 2016.
“I’m retiring,” he said. “This is the last Hardball on MSNBC, and obviously this isn’t for lack of interest in politics.”
Over the past several weeks, the cable news veteran has been under increasing scrutiny due to allegations about previous offscreen conduct, as well as a number of eyebrow-raising on-air statements. Observers took note when Matthews, normally a staple of election coverage, did not appear on air on Saturday during the South Carolina primary.
“After my conversation with NBC, I decided tonight will be my last Hardball,” Matthews said on his show Monday night. “I’ll tell you why. The younger generations are ready to take the reins. We see them in politics, the media, they have proven in the workplace. They grew up with better standards, fair standards. Compliments on a woman’s appearance some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were OK were never OK. Certainly not today. For making such comments in the past, I’m sorry.”
In an article for GQ, published Friday, freelance political columnist Laura Bassett wrote that when she appeared as a guest on Matthews’ show, he repeatedly made inappropriate remarks about her appearance while off-camera. In one instance, she recounted, Matthews asked, “Why haven’t I fallen in love with you yet?” and urged the makeup artist to “Keep putting makeup on her, I’ll fall in love with her.”
The most awkward part of Chris Matthews quitting on live TV was when @hardball came back from break and @SteveKornacki had no idea what to do. pic.twitter.com/pJZK0SFOQp
— Matt Wilstein (@mattwilstein) March 3, 2020
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