Chris Matthews' Hardball departure came in the wake of a bombshell GQ article from journalist Laura Bassett, who alleged that the veteran political anchor "inappropriately flirted" with her before she appeared on his show in 2016. Matthews retired shortly after the report was published.
In the oped, Bassett cited a number of alleged incidents involving the TV host, claiming his list of indiscretions was "long, exhausting, and creepy." This included his treatment of Elizabeth Warren during a recent interview, and allegations from a report in The Daily Caller, which claimed Matthews fostered an "abusive work environment" and "[rated] his female guests on a numerical scale."
As for her own experience, Bassett alleged that the host made inappropriate comments towards her in the makeup room shortly before she went on-air to discuss sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump. Matthews allegedly remarked, "Why haven't I fallen in love with you yet?" and told Bassett's makeup artist to "Keep putting makeup on her, I'll fall in love with her." He also reportedly said, "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."
Bassett, who first made these claims back in 2017, admitted that she didn't initially reveal Matthews' identity because she was afraid the network would retaliate, and because the behavior didn't "rise to the level of illegal sexual harassment."
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