What an unpleasant world Millenials must live in
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Carnage in the makeup room
Political free-lancer complains that Chris Matthews, 74, “inappropriately” flirted with her.
MSNBC host Chris Matthews “inappropriately flirted” with a much younger female guest on at least two occasions while she was getting made up to appear on his “Hardball” show, the woman wrote Friday.
During one incident in 2016, Matthews — who’s married to Kathleen Matthews, a former Maryland Democratic Party chairwoman — allegedly “looked over at me in the makeup chair next to him and said, ‘Why haven’t I fallen in love with you yet?'” Bassett wrote.
“When I laughed nervously and said nothing, he followed up to the makeup artist. ‘Keep putting makeup on her, I’ll fall in love with her.'”
Another time, Bassett said, Matthews complimented her red dress and asked, “You going out tonight?”
When Bassett replied that she didn’t know, Matthews reportedly told the makeup artist, “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 said that although she’s “pretty sure that behavior doesn’t rise to the level of illegal sexual harassment…it undermined my ability to do my job well.”
“Pretty sure” it wasn’t illegal behavior? “Made her nervous”? An old man tosses a couple of mildly flirtatious compliments to a younger [lesbian, if that matters] woman, and instead of ignoring them or brushing them off, which used to be a social skill anyone, male or female, could effortlessly accomplish, she responds with fear and anger, and loses her ability to do her job? “Nice dress” is now “felt” to be a threat to rip it off and ravish her there, right now, on the dressing room floor? Oh, the poor, poor dear.
Did Matthews cross the line between a mere compliment to sexual harassment? I’m sure he didn’t think he had (I’d say he did, slightly) but this woman saw it differently, and in the new world, subjectivity rules; lawsuit to follow.
This will all sort itself out as the older generation is replaced by the new, and the corporate world will become a cold, sterile workplace where men and women stick to business, goddammit, and never ask or discuss anything that isn’t directly related to the job. The inchoate, seething resentment in the breast of young college students will fade away, and all will be right with the world. Until then, the HR departments will be kept busy, 24-hours a day.
Just four years ago, Mike Pence was ridiculed for his refusal to ever dine, meet or even drive in a car with a woman unless accompanied by a third-party witness. Today, one would be a fool to even hold a door open for a woman, let alone say good morning to her.
Sad.