A number of Chris Matthews’s MSNBC colleagues paid their respects to the network’s now-former anchor despite his facing accusations of sexism and harassment.
Matthews, 74, announced his retirement on his show Hardball Monday night. The host explained at the time that his resignation wasn’t the result of “a lack of interest in politics” before apologizing for and acknowledging he was wrong to make comments about “a woman’s appearance.”
Despite his history of making similar remarks during his more than two decades hosting the program, a number of his colleagues at MSNBC offered kind words toward him. Political correspondent Steve Kornacki was the first to respond to the news as he filled in for the rest of the hour after Matthews’s resignation announcement in the first minutes of Monday’s show.
“Um, that was a lot to take in just now, I’m sure,” Kornacki stated after a commercial break. “And I’m sure you’re still absorbing that, and I am, too. Chris Matthews is a giant. 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.”
Matthews’s abrupt resignation came after a tough couple weeks for the host. Last week, 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.
Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski expressed sadness regarding his resignation during the show the next day while also questioning “cancel culture.”
“As a woman, I just, I want to say this: I loved working with Chris Matthews. I really enjoyed being his colleague,” she said. “And I really, I understand the important changes around this so-called cancel culture. They’re important. They’re hard. They’re painful. And in many cases, they are necessary. I do wonder, at this point, though, as we move forward and we look at this and what happened here, if there might be a better way for all of us in the future where we work through this and get to a better place. But for now, I’ll just say I’ll miss him every night at 7 p.m., but I remain his friend.”
Joe Scarborough, Brzezinski’s husband and co-host, voiced similar feelings on the matter.
Additionally, Brian Williams, during the network’s Super Tuesday coverage, addressed the fact that Matthews was not participating in the coverage.
“Tonight, we are missing our mutual friend, who I would never normally describe as retiring, Chris Matthews,” he began. “Chris liked, above all, destroying a political bromide, and he loved a political moment.”
Matthews has a history of allegedly making inappropriate comments both on-air and off beyond Bassett’s claims. Reports have circulated for years that he would rate female guests on a numerical scale based on appearance, had been reprimanded for comments directed to a subordinate that led to a separation-related payment decades ago, and was caught on camera joking about a “Bill Cosby pill,” a reference to a date-rape drug.
