MSNBC’s Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski apologized for comments she made during Friday morning’s show regarding recently ousted MSNBC analyst Mark Halperin, following sexual harassment allegations several women have made against him.
On Friday’s show, Brzezinski criticized Halperin’s accusers for not meeting with him face-to-face. “Mark Halperin is more than willing to meet with his accusers and apologize with them face-to-face. I’ve actually tried to offer him to them. They don’t want to talk to him,” she said.
Brzezinski quickly received backlash for her on-air comments, as 10 women accusing Halperin of sexual harassment issued a statement, saying, “We would ask Ms. Brzezinski for higher standards of editorial judgment, compassion and human decency.”
Just got this: Ten women who have accused Mark Halperin of sexual misconduct send statement to @msnbc rebutting @morningmika’s comments this morning about Halperin: pic.twitter.com/wgDStvilwM
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) December 22, 2017
Brzezinski later apologized for her comments. “We have been trying our best on Morning Joe to have an honest conversation about sexual harassment and sexual assault,” Brzezinski said in a statement. “In our discussion about sexual harassment this morning, I said some things that hurt people. In the case of Mark, my goal today was to start a conversation about hearing from the men whenever we can, but I realize that it is not my place. It isn’t my call to make, and for that I am truly sorry.”
Halperin, a frequent guest on Morning Joe, was terminated by MSNBC and NBC following a CNN report from October in which multiple women accused him of sexual harassment.
Brzezinski’s full statement is below.
“We have been trying our best on Morning Joe to have an honest conversation about sexual harassment and sexual assault. The issue has hit close to home given that Mark Halperin was on our show. I have spent a lot of time talking to some of his accusers and to Mark himself. Often I bring up the issue on our show because I think it would be less than genuine to talk about the growing number of cases without recognizing that a former member of our team acted very badly.
In our discussion about sexual harassment this morning, I said some things that hurt people. In the case of Mark, my goal today was to start a conversation about hearing from the men whenever we can, but I realize that it is not my place. It isn’t my call to make, and for that I am truly sorry. As a victim of sexual assault, I understand that each individual’s case is different. This is up to the victims, some of whom I’ve been in contact with. My hope is for all of us to come together to support the brave women who speak out and help make workplaces safer as we continue this difficult conversation in the months and years ahead.”
