If you were a fan of Hardball with Chris Matthews, then it is time to say goodbye to your prime time political host. The retirement was already underway, but it was pushed forward due to the claim of sexual harassment on him by columnist Laura Bassett in 2016.

Source: The Verge

He started the news with his own headline and said that this would be the last MSNBC Hardball episode hosted by him. He thoroughly enjoyed working with the producers, but it was now time to quit.

In response to Bassett’s allegations, he apologized for the harm he caused and said, “Compliments on a woman’s appearance that some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were okay, were never okay. Not then, and certainly not today. And for making such comments in the past, I’m sorry.”

Apparently, very few people knew about his retirement and Steve Kornacki, who took over the show later was also quite surprised with the on-air resignation. He said he would certainly miss working with him and “That was a lot to take in just now, I’m sure.” 

Source: YouTube

The sexual harassment claims revolve around Bassett who wrote in GQ story that before going on-air, MSNBC anchor, Matthews was concerned about why he hadn’t “fallen in love” with the columnist.

Source: Information Liberation

She was invited to his show to discuss the accusations of sexual abuse against Trump and this remark could not come at a more inappropriate time. She did not categorize it to be “illegal sexual harassment” but felt extremely uncomfortable as this affected her interview later on.

Hardball host also landed in trouble with Elizabeth Warren, who was called to discuss the allegations against Mike Bloomberg. Upon finding out that a female employee was pregnant, Bloomberg told her to “kill it”, and even though he denied this, the opposition was outraged.

Source: 1BUV

So Matthews asked Warren whether the claims were true or not, to which she replied: “Why shouldn’t I believe her?” The cross-questioning continued and Matthews seemed a little biased, but Warren shut him down with the question “Why would she lie?”

Source: Meaww

Along with this, Matthews also had to apologize to Bernie Sanders when he compared his Nevada victory to the decline of France at the hands of Nazi Germany. Sanders is Jewish and lost members of his paternal family in the Holocaust so this example was perceived to be in poor taste.

MSNBC has yet to find a permanent replacement for Hardball host but until then, different journals are scheduled as substitutes.