Longtime MSNBC host Chris Matthews is retiring from the network.
Matthews, who has been the host of Hardball for more than two decades, announced his retirement on Monday after he had been off the air for several days.
"Let me start with my headline tonight. I’m retiring. This is the last Hardballon MSNBC, and, obviously, this isn’t for a lack of interest in politics. As you can tell, I have loved every minute of my 20 years as host of Hardball," he said at the opening of his show on Monday.
"After conversations with MSNBC, I decided tonight will be my last Hardball. So, let me tell you why," he continued. "The younger generations out there are ready to take the reins. We see them in politics, in the media, in fighting for their causes. They are improving the workplace."
Matthews added, "Compliments on a woman’s appearance that some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were OK, were never OK. Not then and certainly not today, and, for making such comments in the past, I’m sorry."
His announcement came after a frequent guest of the network accused him of making inappropriate remarks toward her. Laura Bassett, a columnist with GQ, alleged in an opinion piece that the television host made comments about her appearance, which was the most recent of many allegations of harassment.
An MSNBC spokeswoman told ACV Reports that there will be a rotating group of people from the network filling in during the 7 p.m. hour until they find a permanent replacement for Matthews.
Over the years, reports have circulated that he would rate female guests on a numerical scale based on appearance, has been reprimanded for comments directed to a subordinate that led to a separation-related payment,and was caught on camera joking about a "Bill Cosby pill," which was a reference to a date-rape drug.
He also referred to former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates as "attractive."
"I have to say that, just watching her today, I wouldn't want to be against her," Matthews said of Yates in May 2017. "Unflappable, attractive, obviously, very well spoken, that nice Southern accent, standing up there right in the face of Ted Cruz when Cruz was being, I thought, pretty nasty."
More recently, however, the Hardball host has gotten himself in hot water regarding his commentary as it related to 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
During primaries and caucuses in the early voting states, Matthews argued that the independent senator from Vermont would lose 49 states in a general election against President Trump, compared Sanders's victory in the Nevada primary to the Nazi invasion of France, which he later apologized for, and speculated that the Democrats may be in a better position moving forward if Trump beat Sanders in a hypothetical general election.
Комментарии