Now Chris Matthews in finally resigning after his 23 years of sexist and otherwise inappropriate comments? This is also a man who stated that the purpose of cable TV “news” is for people to reinforce their own already held opinions, even if they’re wrongheaded – and they often were and are.
Per ABC News:
“Matthews came under fire in recent days for comparing U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’s campaign victories to the Nazis invading France and for an interview with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren Tuesday after the South Carolina debate in which critics said he treated Warren disparagingly over her attacks on Mayor Michael Bloomberg.”
On Saturday, political reporter Laura Bassett published an essay in GQ Magazine in which she alleged Matthews made inappropriate comments to her while she was in his show’s makeup room in 2016.
After news of his ouster, Ms. Bassett tweeted: “All I gotta say is… it’s about time.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Matthews was but one of a parade of news anchor and cable host troglodytes who demeaned and objectified women while minimizing their accomplishments. His hazing of Hillary Clinton, for example, was legend, referring to her as “she devil”, “Nurse Ratched” and a “castrating female persona”:
“…[T]he reason she’s a U.S. Senator, the reason she’s a candidate for President, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around. That’s how she got to be senator from New York. We keep forgetting it. She didn’t win there on her merit.”
— Chris Matthews, MSNBC
In a recent interview with Senator Kamala Harris:
Matthews has been doing this forever.
You notice his ridiculous comments about Bernie Sanders were mentioned first above – why do I think that it is really this slight for which he is being pushed out. Few networks have given a damn over his 23 years of outrageous comments thus far.
Parson my cynicism but I also wonder if his rating are down and that is really the reason f or his “resignation”.
No surprise his “resignation” is too little too late to help Senators Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar – and likely too, Elizabeth Warren, who may not have gotten the full misogynist Hillary treatment of the other women, but has certainly suffered media erasure.
We cannot dismiss Chris Matthews as a buffoon whose time has passed. He is one of many network and cable news men in suits, seated behind tony desks, grading women on their “presentation.” This steady drumbeat has been accepted to the point of brainwashing.
We need much greater – and more timely – accountability so that a woman’s candidacy stands on its own merit, without the continued offensive sexist barrage those like Matthews still offer up.
4 Comments
I was with you Until this posting. The hour was not conceived as a ‘soft ball’ approach to political analysis. Mathews provocative hosting style, as blunt as it was direct, invited opposition as well as agreement. Hard Ball was not my favorite hour, but I did appreciate the peep behind the scene it provided. I’ll miss Chris Mathews—along with Al Franken, Hillary Clinton. Should Rachel Maddow be pushed out for whatever reason, I’ll miss her too.
Naomi,
Matthews is sexist, period.
He has a decades-long history of misogyny—on and off the air—and even openly bragged about whether women measured up to his ‘Chris Matthews test’ of women’s attractiveness. He has spoken derisively of female politicians, complaining about their voices and diminishing their accomplishments. He routinely put women’s looks before their smarts or intellectual contributions. And doing it on TV just makes it worse — presenting an image to viewers that goes completely unchecked. During 2016, in particular, he dumped all over Hillary Clinton, saying rude, sexist, and demeaning things about her week after week, and the Beltway media crowd thinks its edgy and insightful and loves to watch.
Why hasn’t Matthews been shunned instead of toasted? Simple: The press has played dumb about the misogyny. They played it that Matthews is a sexist in the same benign way your grandfather is, but at least he tells the truth. So, that’s “benign sexism”? That’s an interesting notion. Is that sort of like “benign” racism?
This wasn’t hardball politics Matthews had been engaging in for decades, it was blatant sexism. But the media knows that misogyny pays. Matthews has three Mercedes in his driveway to prove it.
It’s long past time for him to be called out for this unacceptable behavior towards women. Imagine if his remarks had a racist tint instead. Would he have lasted as long as he did and would he have been lauded and given a pass by the media?
Namoki,
I beg to differ. Matthews is sexist, period.
He has a decades-long history of misogyny—on and off the air—and even openly bragged about whether women measured up to his ‘Chris Matthews test’ of women’s attractiveness. He has spoken derisively of female politicians, complaining about their voices and diminishing their accomplishments. He routinely put women’s looks before their smarts or intellectual contributions. And doing it on TV just makes it worse — presenting an image to viewers that goes completely unchecked. During 2016, in particular, he dumped all over Hillary Clinton, saying rude, sexist, and demeaning things about her week after week, and the Beltway media crowd thinks its edgy and insightful and loves to watch.
Why hasn’t Matthews been shunned instead of toasted? Simple: The press has played dumb about the misogyny. They played it that Matthews is a sexist in the same benign way your grandfather is, but at least he tells the truth. So, that’s “benign sexism”? That’s an interesting notion. Is that sort of like “benign” racism?
This wasn’t hardball politics Matthews had been engaging in for decades, it was blatant sexism. But the media knows that misogyny pays. Matthews has three Mercedes in his driveway to prove it.
It’s long past time for him to be called out for this unacceptable behavior towards women. Imagine if his remarks had a racist tint instead. Would he have lasted as long as he did and would he have been lauded and given a pass by the media?
Good riddance to bad rubbish is all I have to say. I couldn’t stand him. He believed his opinions were better and more legitimate than anyone else’s. It’s a wonder anyone agreed to be a guest on Hardball. He won’t be missed at all.