Workplace discrimination MSNBC’s Chris Matthews resigns from ‘Hardball’ after allegations of inappropriate behavior

Chris Matthews is retiring immediately from his MSNBC show following accusations of making inappropriate comments, including several about women.

“I’m retiring,” the veteran host said at the start of his show Monday. “This is the last ‘Hardball’ at MSNBC and obviously this isn’t for lack of interest in politics. As you can tell, I’ve loved every minute of my 20 years as host of ‘Hardball.’”

Matthews, 74, announced that he would exit immediately, leaving a surprised colleague, NBC correspondent Steve Kornacki, to finish Monday’s broadcast.  Matthews, who was absent from Saturday’s coverage of the South Carolina Democratic primary, said he and MSNBC decided to mutually part ways. He also apologized for past comments about women’s appearances. 

“The younger generations out there are ready to take the reins,” Matthews said. “We’ve seen them in politics, in the media, and fighting for the causes. They’re improving the workplace. We’re talking here about better standards than we grew up with. Fair 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 never OK. Not then and certainly not today. And for making such comments in the past, I’m sorry.”

Matthews remained proud of the work he’s done on the show, he said. 

“Long before I went on television, I worked for years in politics, was a newspaper columnist and author,” he continued. “I’m working on another book. I’ll continue to write and talk about politics and cheer on my producers and crew here in Washington and New York and my MSNBC colleagues. They will continue to produce great journalism in the years ahead.”

According to the Associated Press, he had been talking to MSNBC management about retiring after the election, but he didn’t survive until Super Tuesday. The AP says crew members backstage at “Hardball” on Monday learned of their boss’ exit about an hour and a half before Matthews’ statement.

Matthews, no stranger to heated vocal matches during his on-air interviews, is one of Washington’s ultimate political animals – a figure who lived and breathed politics, usually of the Democratic variety. Born in Philadelphia, he arrived in Washington and worked on Capitol Hill as a U.S. Capitol police officer before serving on the staffs of four Democratic members of Congress.

Matthews worked as a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter, and later served six years as chief of staff to the longtime speaker of the House, Rep. Thomas “Tip” O’Neill of Massachusetts,  playing a key role in political battles with the Reagan administration.

He tried running for office himself, in 1974, in a race for a congressional seat in Pennsylvania. He got less than a quarter of the vote in the primary. As a journalist, he worked in print for 15 years, and served as the Washington bureau chief for the San Francisco Examiner. His  “Hardball” talk show premiered in 1997.

Over the years, the political history buff, who underwent prostate surgery last year, has said he’s a liberal, but is more conservative than people think. What was never in doubt is his gift for gab, which occasionally tripped him up on “Hardball” when he talked so much his guests couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

On Friday, new allegations surfaced when journalist Laura Bassett revealed in a column for GQ that Matthews, made her “uncomfortable” ahead of her 2016 appearance on “Hardball” after he “inappropriately flirted with me in the makeup room.”

“Right before I had to go on his show and talk about sexual-assault allegations against Donald Trump, Matthews looked over at me in the makeup chair next to him and said, ‘Why haven’t I fallen in love with you yet?’” wrote Bassett, a freelance journalist covering politics, gender, and culture.

She continued: “When I laughed nervously and said nothing, he followed up to the makeup artist. ‘Keep putting makeup on her, I’ll fall in love with her.’”

More: MSNBC’s ‘Hardball’ host Chris Matthews recovering from prostate cancer surgery

Bassett recalled another incident where Matthews complimented her red dress and asked whether she was going out following their segment. 

“I said I didn’t know,” Bassett added. “And he said — again to the makeup artist — ‘Make sure you wipe this off her face after the show. We don’t make her up so some guy at a bar can look at her like this.’”

More: MSNBC’s Chris Matthews reprimanded over inappropriate comments about woman in 1999

Bassett’s account was not the first time Matthews’ treatment of women had been called into question. 

In 1999, Matthews was reprimanded for making inappropriate jokes and comments about a female employee. The incident, made when “Hardball with Chris Matthews” was airing on CNBC, resulted in the woman getting separation-related compensation from the network, an MSNBC spokesperson told USA TODAY in 2017. 

In 2016, Matthews issued an apology after asking where his “Bill Cosby pill” was before an interview with then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during her campaign. He said the comment was made in “poor taste.”

And just last month, he apologized for comparing Bernie Sanders’ win in the Nevada caucuses to Nazi Germany’s defeat of France in World War II, which caused an uproar.  On Friday’s show, he confused the identities of South Carolina Senate candidate Jaime Harrison and Sen. Tim Scott, both black men.

Bassett said she decided to come forward with her account after the host had an on-air exchange with Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren about allegations of sexism against fellow candidate Mike Bloomberg.

More: Warren attacks Bloomberg in debate over claims he told pregnant employee to ‘kill it’

Warren said Bloomberg allegedly told a pregnant employee in 1995 to “kill it,” which was corroborated by a Washington Post investigation. Bloomberg denied saying it.

During post-debate coverage, Matthews repeatedly asked Warren, “You believe he’s lying?” and “Why would he lie? … Just to protect himself?”

Warren responded, “Yeah. And why would she lie? I mean, that’s the question, Chris.”

In her column, Bassett said Matthews was trying to undermine the alleged gender-discrimination allegation: “There was no reason for (Matthews) to harp on its veracity, except, perhaps, that he himself has made so many sexist comments over the years that he has a vested interest in Bloomberg being let off the hook.”

Matthews never returned to air after his opening remarks on Monday’s show, with the AP reporting that following his remarks, he left the studio with his wife and family. The “Hardball” guests present for the rest of the episode expressed shock at his announcement. 

Kornacki called it “a lot to take in.”

“Chris Matthews is a giant,” he continued. “He’s a legend. It’s been an honor for me to work with him, to sit in here on occasion, and I know how much you meant to him, and I know how much he meant to you, and I think you’re gonna miss him, and I know I’m going to.”

Associated Press White House reporter Jonathan Lemire called Matthews “an institution at MSNBC for a long time.”

Political reporter Eugene Scott recalled that “within weeks of (my) starting at The Washington Post, Chris had me on ‘Hardball’ to talk about identity politics issues related to race and quite frankly, Millennials as well. And so it’s really important and valuable for him to acknowledge that a generational shift has happened and that a new day has come.”

MSNBC said they will be rotating substitute anchors in the time slot until a permanent replacement is named.

Contributing: Charles TrepanyMike Snider, Ryan Miller, The Associated Press

More: Chris Matthews apologizes for ‘Bill Cosby pill’ comment before Hillary Clinton interview

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/03/02/chris-matthews-resigns-hardball-msnbc-following-allegations/4907195002/

Find New & Used Cars

New CarsUsed Cars

of

Powered by Cars.com