Frequent MSNBC guest and GQ columnist Laura Bassett accused host Chris Matthews of making inappropriate remarks toward her and others.
Bassett came forward with the allegations in a new column titled “Like Warren, I Had My Own Sexist Run-In with Chris Matthews,” which was published on Friday.
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In the piece, she referenced a personal essay she wrote in 2017 in which she detailed how an older, married cable news host “inappropriately flirted” with her multiple times and made her “noticeably uncomfortable on air.” In her new piece, however, she revealed the person’s identity, writing, “I was afraid to name him at the time for fear of retaliation from the network; I’m not anymore. It was Chris Matthews.”
According to her, Matthews made inappropriate remarks to her on two separate incidents while she was getting her makeup done before appearing on the show. In one instance, he remarked, “Why haven’t I fallen in love with you yet?”
“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,” Matthews allegedly said at a different time.
“Again — Matthews was never my boss. I’m pretty sure that behavior doesn’t rise to the level of illegal sexual harassment,” Bassett wrote. “But it undermined my ability to do my job well. And after I published a story about it, even though I didn’t name him, dozens of people reached out to say they knew exactly who it was. Many had similar stories.”
Bassett then compared her experience with Matthews to that of Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The presidential candidate from Massachusetts had a tense exchange with the network host after Tuesday night’s presidential debate during which he repeatedly questioned why she believed a woman who accused fellow 2020 Democrat Michael Bloomberg of discrimination instead of believing his denial. The exchange led to backlash as well as calls for Matthews’s firing from some.
The Hardball host has been accused of or caught making inappropriate remarks before, including allegations that he rated female guests on a numerical scale. He was also reprimanded for 1999 comments 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.
MSNBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
