Tweety Chris Matthews just announced he is retiring

[iluvtennis]

On MSNBC right now.

I think it's because of this:

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Faces New Accusation of Inappropriate Remarks to Women
https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/chris-matthews-hardball-inappropriate-remarks-gq-1203519185/

[trueblue2007]

1. WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PCIntern]

3. Holy shit

[LaurenOlimina]

2. His Me Too moment.

[hlthe2b]

4. Sounds like his controversies of the past few weeks caught up with him...

Probably for the best.

[elleng]

32. yes

[Fla Dem]

110. Article explaining his leaving.

I’m surprised this was his last show.


https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/chris-matthews-retires-from-msnbc-cites-comments-to-women

[DeminPennswoods]

114. Sorry, but this is so petty

Are my fellow women so insecure they cannot even brush off dumb, but ultimately harmless comments?

[MrsCheaplaugh]

116. Um...

Why should women be subject to this disrespect? Why are you rebuking the victim? Why are you calling these remarks, "ultimately harmless"? Why are you okay with verbal abuse?

[DeminPennswoods]

119. No. Since when are women such shrinking violets?

Fire back! Don't wait 3 years to say you were offended. There were plenty of macho men in my DoD command and we women gave as good as we got.

[MrsCheaplaugh]

121. I believe that's what happened here.

Someone fired back. That's why this geek had to "retire." Please stop identifying with the macho men and hating yourself for being female.

[DeminPennswoods]

123. Sorry, but

your reply is more offensive than any dopey thing Matthews said.

[Fla Dem]

122. Maybe it's different in the DoD, but in corporate America and small businesses,

women really couldn't speak out. It's only been since the "Me Too" revelations women have felt empowered to speak out and report overt sexually implicit comments and/or actions in the workplace especially against powerful men. Businesses are now taking action against the perpetrators.

Before if the complaint was about any man in a management position, the woman was often let go and no action taken against the man. I worked in a large corporation. While there were guidelines in HR policies about sexual harassment, generally speaking very little was done to the male involved other than to tell them to "don't do that again", while the woman was transferred to another division and pretty much labeled as not a team player.

In small businesses woman who complained would just be told to get over it, or if you can't handle the kidding, leave. They were made to feel as if they were the guilty party and over sensitive.

I also think women have been made to feel ashamed, as if they were the ones that instigated the behavior. The guy's excuse was that the female was dressed provocatively, etc.

You may be a very self assured woman, and not afraid to speak out, but not all women have that level of self assurance to take action.

It's a different world out there today than it was even 5 years ago.

[DeminPennswoods]

127. As a mid-Boomer,

I grew up in the prime of feminism. It will be many more years before business is even somewhat balanced in terms of its ratio of male to female business owners, board members, supervisors and so on. Actually the federal civil service is probably more balanced in those terms than private companies.

I don't disagree with your analysis, but I do think that men respect, or at least act respectfully toward, women who stand up to them and for themselves. That was my experience starting in the mid-70s and I am an introvert by nature.

To me, if Matthews' guest had replied along the lines of "you're too old for me" or some other lightly insulting comments, he'd have shut up, or maybe apologized on the spot.

This whole episode just trivializes real trauma that women go through at the hands of the men in their lives. There are women who are beaten down verbally every day, called every name under the sun and made to feel like worthless human beings.

[samnsara]

5. oh noooooo i have always liked him

[BigmanPigman]

6. Is he ill?

He has been coughing a lot lately.

*Oh, I just saw your edit about the reason. Steve Kornacki looks stunned.

[Celerity]

11. nope it is his creepy sexist/stalker shit, he just said this

[iluvtennis]

15. But he did have prostrate surgery last fall. It was negative for cancer.

https://www.inquirer.com/health/chris-matthews-msnbc-prostate-cancer-surgery-20191015.html

[doc03]

31. OMG I hope Kornacki doesn't take his place nt

[iluvtennis]

41. Same here, no Kornacki please. nt

[octoberlib]

48. I think it'll be Brian Williams. There was an item in Page Six months ago that

they were looking to replace Matthews with Williams because of Hardball's ratings.

[doc03]

54. I could go with Brian Williams but

not Kernacki he just irritates me too damn hyper.

[octoberlib]

56. Agree.

[zackymilly]

93. Let Al Franken take his place! n/t

[doc03]

96. Wow you couldn't beat that idea he got a bum rap nt

[zackymilly]

99. I have no idea what you mean.

Al's been on SiirusXM radio and he would be great on TV.

[doc03]

103. We lost one of our best Senators over a bullshit sexual

charge that's what I mean. Yet we have a piece of garbage in the Whitehouse that openly
does it and gets away with it.

[zackymilly]

105. I blame Gillibrand and others forcing Franken out. Al should have fought back at them. n/t

[doc03]

109. I agree nt

[homegirl]

97. Great idea...

[Pepsidog]

111. Joy Reid would be great

[BigmanPigman]

58. I like Ali Velshi.

He knows finances and is always professional.

[LisaM]

7. First, Flavor Flav gets the axe, then Mayor Pete suspends his campaign,

Klobuchar throws in the towel, now this.

[Celerity]

8. wowowowow

[Piasladic]

9. It was time -nt

[homegirl]

98. All else aside

Mathews did not know how to conduct an interview, Loved his own voice too much!

[Roland99]

10. Finally!!

[mitch96]

38. Yup, buh bye............ nt

[customerserviceguy]

95. Gave me

a tingle up my leg.

[liberalguilt57]

101. I see what you did there.

I’d almost forgotten about that.

[maxsolomon]

12. He's 74. Could/should have retired long ago.

He'll still come on MSNBC as a guest, I'd wager.

[budkin]

35. Biden is 77, Bernie is 78

I'd like to apply your logic to them, please. It's bonkers we are fighting to elect people this old.

[maxsolomon]

46. Shhh... don't mention the obvious.

DU doesn't take kindly to Ageism.

[samnsara]

52. what the fuck does that even mean?

[Butterflylady]

71. Yes, please clarify your statement.

[maxsolomon]

57. I told you, don't touch this topic!

Vice President Kamala Harris will be ready should anything happen!

[efhmc]

91. Back off, you young whippersnappers and get off my lawn while we are at it.

Although if you wanted to help me weed, we might make a deal.

[treestar]

94. Tweety is not retiring due to his age

[maxsolomon]

100. Nope, he is hoist by his own petard.

He stayed because he loved his job/his job is his life.

Like many.

[Skittles]

102. be careful

we're not allowed to point that out, it would seem

[napi21]

13. I may be one of a ery few, but I'm gonna miss him. He had some bad habits, like interupting

his guests, butt he also wasn''t afraid to ask some tough questions that I had too. Good luck Chris!

[samnsara]

19. but thats why it was called Hard Ball. loved him for his style...

..im sure hes just not wanting to put up with peoples shit any more..

[dchill]

106. That's not it.

[riversedge]

33. I will miss his also. He irked me sometimes, but he was astute and played hardball with his guests

most of the time.

[misanthrope]

83. What good's a question when you don't allow an answer?

His interview style was annoying in the least and counterproductive most of the time.

[efhmc]

92. I would scream at him to shut up and stop interrupting.

I really had to stop listening to him and took my Sirus off MSNBC for that hour.

[themaguffin]

124. I will too. We don't always have to agree. I loved his passion and also

I understood where he was coming from.... while I'm a lot younger, having grown up in the Northeast, I knew people like him - came of age in the 60s and inspired by JFK.

He had a good heart. He had no filter though and this past month was rough.

[PA Democrat]

14. Jeez! Kornacki finishing the hour.

[Piasladic]

25. he seems overwhelmed

and like he didn't exactly know it was coming.

[samnsara]

16. did he just walk off?

[Dennis Donovan]

28. He's not coming back - he said what he said and cut it to commercial

Kornacki, visibly shaken, came back, stammered a bit and cut to more commercials.

This is like Howard Beale without the gun!

[Dennis Donovan]

17. That was one of the more effed up things I've seen on TV... ever!!

It just cut to commercial!

Link to tweet

Kornacki on now. Stammering.

Link to tweet

[iluvtennis]

20. Yep, very strange. I thought he would say I'm giving my notice to MSNBC and will retire at end of

month.

[nolabear]

26. Yeah did he just walk off? Kornacki was gobsmacked.

[Pachamama]

36. Very strange....this was a bomb drop....Kornacki didn't look prepared and in shock....

The fact that Chris Matthews said it was his last show and then it cut to a commercial and that was it....

Kornacki with Deer in headlights look....

[tishaLA]

18. Wait. So his whole contribution today was the announcement?

And the execrable Kornacki is doing the rest of the show?

[iluvtennis]

43. yep. nt

[Wellstone ruled]

21. Most likely because of his ratings

and his stupid remarks about women. Millennial viewers are the target audience and one thing about millennial's is they will not tolerate negative remarks about Women and Gay persons.

Next up,Chuckie the Toad?

[iluvtennis]

23. Agree on Chuckie Toad. nt

[Different Drummer]

34. Dear God, I hope not!

DD

[LiberalFighter]

51. Put it out there on Twitter. Maybe that will scare the hell out of Chuckie.

[octoberlib]

55. Brian Williams. There was an item in Page Six months ago that MSNBC wanted

to replace Matthews with Williams because of ratings.

[Butterflylady]

75. Williams isn't going to be much better.

What the hell are they thinking?

[trueblue2007]

22. OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the crap is going on ???

[samnsara]

24. maybe Joe will make him WH Press Secy!!!

[C_U_L8R]

27. Wow. That's kinda heartbreaking.

We've all had our fun with Tweety but Chris Matthews has been an incredible force. I don't know anything about what goes on behind the scenes or what he did... but I've always admired his hardball pursuit of the real story. His passion for the job and for good journalism. I know his health hasn't been the greatest and he hasn't been the sharpest - but I expected to have him with us at least through the election. I hope he enjoys a great retirement knowing he's accomplished a stellar career many of us can only dream of.

[Blaukraut]

37. Agreed. I'll miss him, too.

Lately, when covering the primaries, he had a tendency to get hoof-in-mouth disease as the evening wore on. There were several incidences where he has had to apologize. I think he was getting too old for the grind.

[Hoyt]

82. +1.

[budkin]

29. Good riddance!

Bye-bye Tweety!

[budkin]

30. Comparing Sanders win in Nevada to the Nazi invasion of Paris was it for me

Glad he got canned.

[elleng]

39. Yes, glad he's gone,

and glad I didn't see that Sanders/Nevada thing.

[Rustyeye77]

42. YOU KNOW... this is bs

One accusation ( and from 3 tears ago) and you are GUILTY .

So basically dont give compliments..dont even talk or else youre screwed.

There has to be balance.

2 words...AL FRANKEN !!!

[doc03]

44. Well just like with Al Franken could their be some political pressure behind

this? I know Trump would like to eliminate MSNBC.

[lindysalsagal]

45. He just needs to go for lots of reasons.

Mostly, he's cooked out. Make room for the youngin's.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

49. FINALLY... WAY OVERDUE!! GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE TWEETY!!

[dem4decades]

50. Was that planned? Did Kornacki know he was doing the test of the show?

He had class in leaving, i bet Todd won't.

[salin]

53. His yell/talking has always annoyed me. The story of his role in cancelling Donahue's show in

in the early aughts due to Phil's opposition to the Impending Iraq war still pisses me off.

Yet for some strange reason that I can explain, I am a little sad at the moment. He needed to retire. Don't get me wrong. But something makes me sad. Maybe it is just that since this election, I often sit with the MSNBC lineup on in the evening (while I do other things - often only partially attend to it), and one more thing that had been 'normal' is changed. Maybe that is what strikes me as sad about it? Can't put a finger on my reaction, and given that I found his show the most annoying of the lineup - and him, personally offensive.

Anyone else having a puzzling mixed reaction?

[Turin_C3PO]

61. I'm having mixed feelings.

I recognize he could be kind of an oaf but nonetheless, I kinda liked him.

[salin]

66. In a way I can't put my finger on, I agree.

I mean - a) he annoyed me; and b) the recent exhibits of inappropriate moments = it was time to go. But still... I never thought I would have this reaction, but on some level I will miss him.

[salin]

70. I just saw the clip (linked below). I didn't see it live. It gives me an inkling to my mixed

reaction.

He was always human. This all unwound over the weekend. Speaks with the higherups today, before the show, and gives this delivery and action in response. There was some courage in taking this route - in this era of screeching grievance.

Link to tweet

[d_b]

59. they'll find another Chris Matthews

The Chuck Todd Industrial Complex always does.

[Under The Radar]

60. Whatever the reason, he did it in a manner to harm the network

[moondust]

62. Glad he's gone before tomorrow.

Will make the extended commentary a little more tolerable.

[mchill]

63. I'm going to miss him

I could overlook his faults because there is no one like him when it comes to modern political history, anecdotal or otherwise. I always tuned into Hardball. If it’s Brian Williams that replaces him, that is the best of those mentioned, but he is irreplaceable. I realize I’m in the minority here...but maybe at 66 I’m an old fart too.

[dewsgirl]

86. I would always watch him with my grandparents, I remember

him and Tim Russert...this makes me sad. I wish him the best in his retirement.

[WhiskeyWulf]

64. Thank the Gods!! nt

[DAMANgoldberg]

65. Wow!

I honestly believe they were trying to wait out Shephard Smith's non-compete clause, but after the events of the last week, TPTB thought they had to jettison him on the eve of a very important day in Cable News, Super Tuesday.

This is not to say they wouldn't announce Shep coming over, but if they really wanted him, they could buy-out the clause and have him on the air sooner.

[liberalla]

67. Well good. It's about time.

[samir.g]

68. He felt a thrill going up the wrong leg.

[efhmc]

69. Where did he get the sobriquet of Tweety?

[murielm99]

73. His staff calls him that.

He looks like Tweety Bird.

[greenjar_01]

84. He was called Tweety by an old web site called "Media Whores Online" (circa 2001-2002)

They claimed at the time that some on his staff called him that because of his at the time bright blonde hair, but I suspect they made it up.

All hail MWO!

[Dem2]

72. I thought he would never retire

Can't say I'll miss him. Maybe I can watch that hour now.

[radius777]

74. Chris was an original, with actual opinions. Far left had it out for him

for awhile now - regardless of the fact that he often annoyed all types of people (including centrists, of which he was one) because shaking things up was his style.

Chris is a cable news legend, he pioneered the more entertaining/raucous style talking heads show - always looking for different perspectives etc.

[Bok_Tukalo]

76. There's a fine line between creepy and flirty

And that line is how attractive you are.

[amuse bouche]

77. I used to be a Hardball fan. Now, I mainly watch Nicole and Rachel

I hope Chuck is the next to exit

[tulipsandroses]

78. He should have learned his lesson when he was first accused.

I have no patience for men that refuse to change their behavior. I am thankful that women are being listened to and heard. Happy retirement Chris Matthews. I enjoyed his show, but if sexual harassment is what lead to this, then good riddance.

[Ilsa]

79. Kornacki is delivering the tribute right now. nt

[not fooled]

80. The petulant manner of his departure

seems in character.

[yuiyoshida]

81. This really doesn't surprise me...

Many times Matthews comes off acting superior.. now its blown up in his face.

[warmfeet]

85. Weird shit is happening.

Hope we get to find out the truth behind it all. I have an inkling that there is more to this story.

[TomCADem]

113. Sheppard Smith Left Due to Trump. Tweety Left Because of Sanders

Trump/Sanders two sides of the same anti-First Amendment coin.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/business/media/chris-matthews-bernie-sanders-apology.html

The MSNBC star Chris Matthews issued an unusual apology to Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday night, a moment of humility for the veteran “Hardball” anchor after days of mounting criticism from allies of Mr. Sanders, the front-runner in the Democratic presidential race.

Mr. Matthews, who has a reputation for pugnacious commentary, drew fire from Sanders aides — and at least one network colleague — after he compared his victory in the Nevada caucuses to the Nazi takeover of France in World War II.

“The general calls up Churchill and says, ‘It’s over,’” Mr. Matthews said during a Saturday broadcast, as he tried to describe Democrats’ surprise at Mr. Sanders’s command of the party primary. “Churchill says: ‘How can it be? You got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over?’ He said, ‘It’s over.’”

[OnDoutside]

120. He should never have apologised for what was an analogy from an historical event, but of course

when the Bros pile in, they swamp the narrative.

That said, Tweety should have gone after 2016. It was time then.

[themaguffin]

125. No, he didn't leave because of those comments, but the comments sure didn't help

[empedocles]

87. Some 'tough' crowd here

[renate]

88. I would like it if he were still there, behind the scenes... he has so much experience with politics

But I think it's probably good, for his legacy, that he goes off the air now.

I couldn't believe his question to Elizabeth Warren the other night--that was completely unacceptable. His compliments in the past (I can't remember how long ago they were) could be excused as simply not knowing that women don't love having their appearance commented on all the time, but it's 2020 and his weirdly confrontational defense of Bloomberg was so inappropriate.

It looked like nobody at MSNBC knew what was happening--the two women in the background, seen through the glass, were having a pretty animated discussion that kind of detracted from Kornacki's sombre tone.

[TheDemsshouldhireme]

89. I will miss him

You could tell he was a FDR new deal democrat and the election of JFK as the first catholic had a big impact on him and he worked for Tip O'neill. I didn't always agree with him nor did I expect to. I always thought that's what makes us different than republicans, we are not ditto heads, we can handle different opinions. I don't want to just listen to things I agree with, you don't learn anything. I wish him well, despite some recent faux pas, he knew the ins and outs of Washington and how the house and senate actually work.

[ibegurpard]

90. long past time

[Duppers]

104. Yes! Looooonnnnng past time.

[Scruffy1]

107. Maybe there is a god, after all.

Personally I'd like to see the whole bunch opf talking heads go away. I can think for myself.

[friend of m and j]

108. Rachel and Lawrence O'donald will be the only reason I will have to

go to MSNBC during Prime Time. I like a lot of their reporters but they are just reporters, not host of a great show. They might have to change the name of the show to "Soft Gloves".

I might forgive the management of MSNBC if they would replace Mathews with Al Franken

[SylviaD]

112. I've disliked him since election night 2016 when he made every excuse possible for Trump's election.

...and kept cutting off Rachel and others who tried to make the counterpoint that racism and sexism were big reasons why Trump won. He was nasty and despicable then and he still is. Good riddance!

[MerryBlooms]

115. I've tried to give a damn, but apparently, my give a damn's busted.

[Tarc]

117. Chris Matthews was a misogynist predator. Good fucking riddance

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[iluvtennis]

118. Wow :-(