‘Hardball’ Host Chris Matthews Admits To ‘Inappropriate’ Behavior; Laura Bassett Reacts On Twitter

Chris Matthews has publicly addressed the allegations made against him by Laura Bassett and admitted to behaving “inappropriately.”

The former “Hardball” host confirmed to Vanity Fair’s “Inside the Hive” podcast that Bassett's claims about him were true. He was referring to the journalist’s allegations of “inappropriate behavior” when she was getting her makeup done for an appearance on his show.

“It’s inappropriate in the workplace to compliment somebody on their appearance. This is in the makeup chair, and I did it,” Matthews said.

“I didn’t argue about it. I didn’t deny it. I accepted the credibility of the complaint in the article. I didn’t want to challenge the person that made the complaint and wrote the article. I thought it was very credible and certainly within the person’s rights to write that article, of course. That was highly justified,” he continued.

In March, Matthews announced his retirement and issued a similar apology for his actions while on the show. He stated that it is never alright to compliment a person's appearance.

“Compliments on a women’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,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bassett took to Twitter to share her thoughts on Matthews' public admission. She revealed that she missed the podcast but praised Matthews for owning up to his mistake.

"Somehow I missed that Chris Matthews confirmed my story about him to Vanity Fair yesterday. I appreciate him owning up this and respect how he handled it,” she wrote.

Bassett also encouraged others to read the story from Vanity Fair because many accused her of lying about Matthews when she made her claims against the host.

Bassett shared her encounter with Matthews in a personal essay in 2017. However, she didn’t name him at the time for fear of retaliation from the network. However, in her article for GQ in February, she finally dropped his name.

“Again—Matthews was never my boss. I’m pretty sure that behavior doesn’t rise to the level of illegal sexual harassment. But it undermined my ability to do my job well. And after I published a story about it, even though I didn’t name him, dozens of people reached out to say they knew exactly who it was. Many had similar stories,” she wrote.