Did Chris Matthews just break sex harassment law in National TV? Law Says ANYONE can sue who saw it

[Dems Will Win]

"ERIN, LEAN INTO THE CAMERA"


"WHAA... WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?

Erin Burnett just finished her report, and Chris says.."Erin,lean in toward the camera."..She says "Whaaa..?..he repeats it, and she starts to lean in and then asks "What's this about"?.. he says.. "You look GREAT.. and then mumbles something else..

She did not look all that amused at the on-air embarrassment for his benefit..

Chris has often made comments about the beauty of his young female reporters such as Nora O'Donnell. That fulfills the pattern requirement of the law, and NBC is liable because this has been going on for years and they never stopped it.

This was different, it was much more blatant, asking her to lean in had a sexual connotation, so he could see her body or face. This is clear harassment through embarrassment, and using one's higher position to command it. Only he did it on National TV, in front of 300,000 witnesses!

You know why he couldn't contain himself, is because Erin Burnett is competing in the stock babe game up against Maria Baritomo herself. Tweety got so excited having Erin Burnett on he lost control!

It will be on again at 7 PM. I will be watching to see if he should be sued. You do not have to be the victim to sue, for sexual harassment! HERE IS THE LAW:

Employees are protected under both state and federal law against workplace sexual harassment. Federal law remedies for workplace discrimination are based upon Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , which applies to employers with fifteen or more employees. People who work for smaller employers are usually protected by similar state anti-discrimination laws. Under federal law, same-sex sexual harassment can support a claim against an employer. State laws may vary on the issue of same-sex harassment.

There are two general categories of sexual harassment in the workplace:

Quid Pro Quo Harassment - An employee is required to tolerate sexual harassment in order to obtain or keep a job, job benefit, raise, or promotion.

Hostile Work Environment Harassment - Harassment at work unreasonably interferes with or alters the employee's work performance, or creates a hostile, abusive or offensive work environment. In determining if a workplace environment is "hostile", the following factors are typically examined:

Whether the conduct was verbal, physical, or both;
- How frequently the conduct was repeated;
- Whether the conduct was hostile or patently offensive;
- Whether the alleged harasser was a co-worker or supervisor;
- Whether others joined in perpetrating the harassment; and
- Whether the harassment was directed at more than one individual.

A single incident may be sufficient to establish a "quid pro quo" harassment claim, but typically a pattern of conduct is required to establish a hostile work environment. Conduct which may give rise to a sexual harassment claim includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. Depending upon the circumstances, an employer may be liable for conduct of non-employees over whom it exercises some level of control, where it doesn't take appropriate corrective action to end sexually harassing conduct.

Verbal statements may also constitute sexual harassment, based upon an evaluation of the totality of the circumstances. Relevant factors include:

The nature, frequency, context, and intended target of the remarks;
- Whether the remarks were hostile and derogatory;
- Whether the alleged harasser singled out the complaining party;
- Whether the complaining party participated in the exchange; and
- The relationship between the complaining party and the alleged harasser.
- To bring an action for sexual harassment, the plaintiff must establish that:

The plaintiff found the conduct to be hostile, abusive or offensive; and
A reasonable person in the position of the plaintiff would consider the conduct hostile, abusive or offensive.
Please note that the plaintiff does not necessarily have to be a victim of the harassment in order to file a complaint against workplace sexual harassment.

Ordinarily before a complainant can file a suit based upon sexual harassment, the complainant must first file a complaint about the conduct with an administrative agency. For a federal complaint, the complaint would first be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). There are also state and local agencies, to which complaints may be made under state law. Sometimes the agency will take your case, and prosecute your discrimiantion on your behalf. If the agency does not act within a specific timeframe, or declines to act on your behalf, you may file a private lawsuit.

HMMMMMM...

If you love Tweety and want to give him a free pass on this, DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS POST!

[Maddy McCall]

1. I hope that we see a youtube video soon.

Others have posted about this this afternoon...I want to see the YT video.

[Roland99]

76. Figured Crooks and Liars would have it by now

[liberalmike27]

81. This May Not be Popular

But he said "Come closer to the camera," at least that was what I thought. If he had said "Lean" it would make one think he wanted to see her cleavage. But I was sitting there thinking myself, how stunningly good looking she was, in the face, and nowhere else.

I suppose you could make a case for harrassment here, a really sketchy, outside the border, edgy case. It's like the ticket I got for making a perfectly safe lane change at 20 mph. The cop should have let that one go.

There was this woman working at a hotel I once worked for, and another guy was always flirting with her. This other guy was always flirting with her, sometimes hugging and such. I mentioned sexual harrassment one day and she said "You can't harrass the willin' " in a cute little southern accent. I think it is really up to the woman. Perhaps it was a little inappropriate, but I think Chris, like I, was just thinking about how cute she was, didn't mean any harm. I really think trying to throw things like this in the harrassment pile sort of cheapens the whole thing, and should be reserved for people who make "continual" advances. If she tells him to never do it again, and he keeps on doing it, then that is another thing.

That said, he must be on the rocks with his wife. If he isn't, he will be.

[Iris]

89. er... I think Erin should be the one to decide whether this one should be "let go"

Sexual harassment doesn't just have to be about body parts. Assuming she is trying to build a career on more than her looks, then it's not that simple. He's basically reduced her to a cute girl. Maybe just for a moment, but as the OP said, there were 300,000 witnesses.

[On the Road]

97. There is a Huge Difference

between "lean into the camera" and "come closer to the camera."

"Lean into the camera" means "I want to look at your cleavage." "Come closer" is more ambiguous and not as openly sexual.

[yardwork]

110. Saying "You look great!" in that context is always sexist and unprofessional.

When Matthews made a point about her appearance - rather than her professional expertise - he crossed the line into inappropriate, unprofessional, sexist, and probably harrassing behavior. You just don't do that to a female journalist.

[Truth2Tell]

133. Yep, I have no idea

if this breaks the law... but it confirms, if there was any remaining doubt, that Chris Matthews is a

cmplete and total JACKASS.

[siri2k]

2. Kick! n/t

[earthside]

3. Whatever you do ...

... don't tune into Comedy Central.

[Elspeth]

4. Maybe we should report it

Hmmm

[whistle]

5. It's the Guns of August, gawd another Bill O'Lielly moment for cable news

...did anyone get this on video?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. I guess Tweety is switch-hitting this evening.

Only the other day he was yearning for a "beefy" male presidential candidate; and just a few weeks ago he was enjoying the manly odor of Fred Thompson.

Either way, he's totally creepy. :puke:

[Hieronymus]

72. His wife, rather than being jealous, is probably ecstatic that it was a female.

[purduejake]

108. Excuse me?

Why would she be ecstatic that it was a female? What difference would it make if it was a male?

[peacetalksforall]

84. I heard him loud and clear when it was Al Gure - big neck, stiff neck,

brown shirt, other clothing, fat, mustache or goatee or whatever - he is obsessed with the physical being of Al Gore - the insinuation being he (Gore) is not Presidential or Presidential enough (and weird?). Who knows. He bites in with his teeth at certain people and giggles with delight at people or issues that totally distracts away from from the stream of communication.

[Colobo]

7. Tweety is an ass, but...

As a black Latino that has had to deal with stupidity both in my home country and over here (more over there than over here), even at work/school, I've learned that sometimes it is better just to forget about minor things and move on.

This reporter, in my opinion, should complain if Tweety has approached her personally in an improper manner or if he has done this quite too many times to the point it becomes aggravating or affects her ability to perform her job in a negative way.

However, if this is just something that happened only today and can be solved with a one on one apology or just by forgetting it, why get involved in lawsuits or that kind of stuff?

[knowledgeispwr]

10. As a black non-Latino....

I agree with you!

:yourock:

[WhiteTara]

19. you don't think she was embarrassed or even

humiliated ON AIR? I know how you feel about letting some of it slide (you'd spend your life in an absolute fury otherwise) but it is an interesting question...she was treated like a side of beef or a hooker or something that requires no dignity.

[cui bono]

74. As non-black, non-latino female if I felt embarrassment it would be for him

for making an ass out of himself. She did nothing wrong, nothing to get embarrassed about. A woman with self-esteem wouldn't need to feel bad about herself for that.

I agree that a simple apology is the proper approach. Let's keep the lawsuits for the stuff that matters so that these issues and women are taken seriously.

Oh, and of course I hope she goes off on him privately and lets him know how inappropriate and sexist that was.

[frogcycle]

98. She should complain about this

it does not have to be in person or "too many times"

But I don't think it rises to the level of lawsuit.

Too bad she didn't say "Chris, you are a complete asshole" on camera. then dare him to make an issue of that!

[Skittles]

119. minor things?

you think it's minor when female professionals are treated differently than males? On national TV?

[iverglas]

139. you fewl

Everything that a man does to a woman that she didn't invite and doesn't want done to her is minor. I'd think you ... we ... would have learned that by now! Hard to spend any time at DU without figuring it out.

Imagine this particular fool saying something like that to a male reporter. Never mind any gay/straight stuff -- just that his response to a piece of work by a male colleague was to issue an incomprehensible instruction, which the colleague would automatically interpret as work-related and feel stupid that he didn't understand, and so act confused and thus feel and look unprofessional. And the instruction turned out to be a prologue to a comment about the male colleague's appearance.

Do we imagine that the male journalist in question would be impressed that he'd been made to look foolish by being treated in such a juvenile way on national television?

That's what was done to this woman. The "sexual" element of the harassment is that the asshole in question did this to her BECAUSE she is a woman, and would not have done it to a man.

So actually, it might not be best described as sexual harassment. It might be best described as hostile-climate discrimination on the basis of sex: a co-worker treating the woman differently because she is a woman in a way that interferes with her professional activities and makes her working environment more difficult than a man's in a similar situation. For which employers are liable.

[Skittles]

143. I would kick his perverted ASS

I don't give a CRAP about your semantics

[iverglas]

144. and here was me agreeing with you

I guess I should just have a dozen drinks before I read or post at DU at this time of night.

Try reading my post in the light of day, and you may see what's actually there.

[SmokingJacket]

120. Perhaps his BOSS should give him a warning.

I think a lawsuit might be a bit much for a stupid rude remark. However, I don't think that kind of behavior should be encouraged.

[emulatorloo]

8. I watched it -- he was an *ss -- but it wasn't "sexual harrassment" you do you have a lawsuit

-- as described it does not sound like "A single incident may be sufficient to establish a "quid pro quo" harassment claim" -- Tweety did not tell her she had to have sex with him to keep her job. He said "You look great" --maybe inappropriate, but not quid pro quo.

-- nor does it sound like you can establish that this was "a pattern of conduct" leading to hostile work environment -- "a pattern of conduct is required to establish a hostile work environment." Sounds like Erin was surprised by the comment, so this was not a "pattern of conduct" to her.

ON EDIT =

I just watched it -- it was goofy, inappropriate, and unprofessional -- he should apologize. But that does not mean there is a lawsuit in it.

[ncteechur]

80. Thank you-I agree. Ass? Yes. Harrasser? No-not this time.

[girl gone mad]

9. He does that crap all the time.

He is really hung up on people's looks and frequently makes irrelevant observations about height, hairstyles, masculinity, etc. Maybe it's because he's so fug? :shrug:

[emulatorloo]

12. LOL n/t

[wordpix]

33. fug? What's that?

[TroglodyteScholar]

54. fugly n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

52. Okay, I think you nailed it.

He DOES frequently make irrelevant observations, and that seems to appeal to a certain demographic in this country which enjoys belittling people to hold them down.

[DUyellow]

55. you are right, he does make dumb ass comments like that all the time.

[oldtime dfl_er]

113. And if he's doing it on camera

You just KNOW he's doing it even worse OFF camera. Let's hope someone who's been a victim has the guts to speak up.

www.scarebaby.com

[ecstatic]

11. He should be sued and fired

He has no talent. He's a sexist, uninformed asshole and it's about time that someone more qualified took over his job.

[Colobo]

13. The incident is minor. He should apologize personally to this reporter and that's it.

[Dems Will Win]

15. I disagree, he is always making remarks repeatedly to his female guests

but in this instance, he obviously embarrassed her by asking her to lean in which suggests he wanted to see her cleavage or bust line. You have to see it.

[SoCalDem]

16. It should be on in a few minutes.. and BTW he embarrassed her on NATIONAL TV

not in the breakroom or at her desk..

[Stardust]

73. Absofuckinglutely. Nail his ass. Bad Tweety! Bad!

No sarcasm smiley here.

[Colobo]

17. In order to fire someone on the basis of sexual harassment

a VERY strong case should be made. I understand Tweety did something very inappropiate, but we have to see if it can be solved with both a public and a private apology.

[Ian David]

14. "Nice cleavage! Fair enough! NARF!" n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

22. She isn't wearing that in this piece. She's wearing a button up shirt, that's buttoned all the way.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

18. She's on right now! eom

[SoCalDem]

21. The way he did it was just creepy.. like the weird uncle who always wants

the little girls to "sit on his lap"..:eyes:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

25. It was creepy with the lascivious laugh of his. She wasn't dressed provocatively either.

[SoCalDem]

36. and she was not flirting with him n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

38. No, she wasn't and he confused her with his remark. eom

[Dems Will Win]

56. then he mumbled "You're A Knockout"

[Gelliebeans]

44. I just saw it

before I even saw this thread and the first initial thought that came to me was, Damn that was weird, was he trying to humiliate her?

[ecstatic]

23. Not sure I appreciate her desire for China to continue making lead filled toys and poisonous seafood

She's really not even cute IMO

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

27. She's as hard looking as her heart is hard eom

[SoCalDem]

Someone from Fox probably sent her a vat of their trademarked Fox-Gloss

for her pouty lips:)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

35. Each of her features were perfect but put together, along with her voice, I don't

think any amount of gloss would make her appear attractive to me.

[shaniqua6392]

77. Don't forget the trademarked Faux News mini skirt!!

No women on that network get to wear pants. Even the one that was pregnant wore an uncomfortable looking short skirt right up until the end. It is disgusting especially since they are in front of a coffee table while sitting and always have to keep their legs together twisted like pretzels. Yuk.

[SoCalDem]

112. Don't forget the GLASS desk

http://www.reportercaps.proboards99.com/index.cgi?board=caption&action=display&thread=1183039771

[shaniqua6392]

128. You just made me blow coffee out of my nose!!!

Lord have mercy. They look so uncomfortable. Faux News job requirements: Highlighted hair, mini skirts, lip gloss, 15% body fat, etc....They give women a bad name. Especially women who are trying to gain respect in the field of journalism.

[SoCalDem]

131. Did you click the link? Apparently that red dress is like a uniform at Fox

I don;t know if they share it, or if they all just have their own, but several of the newsettes wear that damned red dress all the time :)

[SoCalDem]

28. I noticed that too.. perhaps walmart's not gonna be happy with what she said..

"...if China stops making poisonous toys & food, stuff's gonna cost more at Walmart ..." :rofl:

[Stephanie]

30. that was actually a pretty brazen and courageous statement

refreshingly blunt

[glowing]

32. Agree with that one. I assume she doesn't shop at walmart or have

children... otherwise she'd realize how stupid that statement is.

[wordpix]

37. "be careful what you wish for with China"---taking the lead out is going to make the costs go up?

Well that's a lot better than giving children toxic jewelry.

[SoCalDem]

40. Sorry Madison, Mommy can't afford this necklace, but this little lead necklace is just as pretty

and look.. It even weighs more.. More weight for the money :)

[AnotherGreenWorld]

42. I know...WTF?

Erin Burnett: (paraphrase) Politicians like to criticize China. Well: Be careful what you wish for! If China stops producing poisonous food and lead-filled toys, production costs will rise, and we'll have higher prices here!

[AX10]

20. At heart, Tweety Matthews is a conservative Republican...

who will always live by the old standard of what is "proper". Matthews is one of those freaks who is in love with the myth of the "Wonderous" 1950's.

[SoCalDem]

24. maybe he's a fan of "Mad Men"

which happens to be a great show:)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

41. i saw the first one and it was great. I keep forgetting it's on. Although I was a kid

in that time period, I don't recall men, friends of my parents, or my Dad, being so chauvinistic.

[SoCalDem]

43. They certainly were that.. and then some..

well into the 60's and early 70's too..

Our bank put out a DRESS CODE HANDBOOK for the "girls".. some of the "girls" were well inot their 50's.:grr:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

45. For girls? Geeze! I was involved with organizing a "pants" strike in my school so

us "girls" (I really was a girl then) could wear pants to school. This was in NYC and we won the right. :)

If you're still watching Tweety, they are ironically talking about Hillary calling herself a girl the other night during the debate. What's weird is, that sometimes I'll start to say I'm a girl and then remember how silly that is. I'm a 55 year old Woman.

[SoCalDem]

48. I always laugh when a woman my age introduces her "boy"friend

:)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

50. lol! Me too!!!!

:hi:

[PurpleChez]

75. I hadn't even heard of it until the other day

when the writer/creator was on public radio's Fresh Air. It sounded incredible.

[SoCalDem]

116. It's great.. watch for the first two episodes .. they re-run then frequently

and may even have them available online..

It's a fantastic show..Your jaw will drop at the stuff they say..and yes it really WAS like that :)

[democrat2thecore]

147. WHAT?????

Matthews in NOT a conservative Republican. He has a long history in Democratic circles. He ran for Congress as a Democrat, he was Tip O'Neill's Chief of Staff, his family has a history of working in Democratic campaigns, in all his books he describes himself as a "liberal." Chris Matthews is rough on all sides - yes. That does NOT make him a conservative Republican. Matthews is, if anything, an old-fashioned DEMOCRAT. Many will bring up that he said that he voted for Bush in 2000. This is probably true as Matthews and Gore have bad blood, but there are other quotes floating around that he simply never said.

[glowing]

26. Very inappropriate. There was no reason for her to lean forward.

I would be so pissed if I were her.

[Coexist]

29. I swear - that thing that filters weird thoughts before you open your mouth

is missing on that man - AND HE HAS A JOB ON T.V.

[bridgit]

31. that "HA!" cackle alone seals it for me after making her dance on his thin little dime...

:thumbsdown:

[emulatorloo]

34. I just watched it -- It was Unprofessional, and he should apologize, but it aint a lawsuit.

BTW the outfit she was wearing is diff from your picture. A shirt buttoned up, so suggestions that Matthews was trying to see her cleavage don't make sense.

None the less it was goofy inappropriate and unprofessional -- he should apologize.

[wordpix]

39. I agree but also agree Tweety's been ogling his young guests thru the yrs.

I think he has a problem that Kathleen should set him straight about since he can't seem to contain himself.

[KoKo]

46. That's ON TOP of what HE DID YESTERDAY! Video from Think Progress!

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/09/matthews-bush-monologue/

[SoCalDem]

49. the only time Matthews opens his mouth, is to change feet :)

:)

[orleans]

68. (yuck!) n/t

[Chipper Chat]

47. Just my take: it was her eyes.

During the segment all I could do was watch her gorgeous blue eyes. I think that's where Tweety was going. He should have been specific. And I think his last words (mumbled) were "You're a knockout."

[Jade Fox]

51. Uh, complimenting a professional woman on her looks.....

while she is in the middle of trying to do her job is inappropriate and condescending.

Having said that, these women on TV are obviously hired, at least in part, to be eye candy, so it gets pretty confusing.

[Chipper Chat]

53. But I was doing it from my living room. Not OK?

As for Chris - I'm not defending him. It was inappropriate. I just meant everyone seems to be anal about the cleveage.

[K8-EEE]

100. Different from your living room, yes

You can ooooh baby all you want from your living room but a co-worker making those kind of comments on the air/at work is a whole different thing. No I don't think she should sue; yes I think he should be reprimanded & apologize.

[Chipper Chat]

135. Doubt it.. Chris has too much clout at NBC.

But when Tweety said "move in a little closer" "move the camera in" I just thought 'Chris you stupid dumbass. What the fluck you think yer doin'

[SoCalDem]

138. Imus thought he had some power too.. n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

57. That was bad...

Even my husband who was just passing through the room said, "Whoa, Chris, that was chauvinist." How appalling.

[Subdivisions]

58. Chris Mattews is a pig. Also, anyone who's seen Morning Joe

has seen this inappropriate behaviour directed at Erin from Joe Scarborough.

Having said that, and as a red-blooded, verile man, I would agree that she is incredibly hot!

[Poiuyt]

59. Kind of like when Glenn Beck wanted to take nude photos of his female guest

Discussing racy photos, Beck to female guest: "I've got some time and a camera. Why don't you stop by?"

On the February 28 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck once again made sexually suggestive comments toward a woman when he hosted US Weekly's Dina Sansing to discuss racy photographs of American Idol contestant Antonella Barba. After Beck claimed that "ou can't take stupid photos and expect those to be ... locked away forever," Sansing responded that it was "possibly" true and that "it depends." As the weblog Crooks and Liars noted, Beck then asked: "Dina, I've got some time and a camera. Why don't you stop by?" Sansing did not respond and, after several seconds of silence, Beck stated: "No? OK." As Media Matters for America has noted (here, here, and here), in each of the first three episodes of his CNN Headline News show in May 2006, Beck made sexually suggestive comments to CNN Headline News anchor Erica Hill, who was then giving daily news updates on Beck's show. Hill no longer appears on Beck's program.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200703010005

[UTUSN]

60. He has a LONG history. Why does his "queen" Kathleen put up with it?

Then M-TV held its 20th or 25th or whatever anniversary, and all the cable echo chambers were doing segments of Britney shedding her duds down to almost nothing. Not to be left behind, Tweety followed suit, with a guest "culture" commentator from Time Mag, the young humor columnist, Joel STEIN.

The staff kept re-running the Britney clip, and Tweety was clearly DROOLING disgustingly. STEIN said, "You're beginning to creep me out." Tweety responded, "Yeah, well, wait till YOU're 50."

This led to the suggestion that "Tweety" be modified to "Tweezer" to retain the hair reference while canceling out the affection factor and also adding the (dirty old) "geezer" angle.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

61. Tweety must have had a few pops before the show

I mean, really, did he think he wasn't on the air or something?

Although I can't disagree with his assessment.....

[Meldread]

62. I saw it and couldn't believe it.

I was like 'woah, that is just asking for a sexual harassment suit. I can't believe he did that on live TV.'

Basically, it went something like this. She was giving her report on the Stock Market and near the end, he goes, he asks her to lean into the camera. She laughs nervously and asked why. He tells her again to just lean into the camera. So she leans forward, not knowing what the hell was going on. Meanwhile Tweety is there with this big grin on his face. And she looks totally confused. Then he suddenly looks satisfied with himself and compliments her on her looks. Calls her beautiful or something. She laughs nervously looking completely humiliated.

I still can't believe he did it. Well... I can. I just can't believe he did it on national television.

Tweety has always been creepy as hell. His comments on manly smells just makes my skin crawl - and I'm gay! I'm afraid if I met him he'd want to smell me or feel me up or something.

However, yeah, this was total sexual harassment and it was made worse because it completely humiliated the poor woman in front of a national TV audience. She looked embarrassed, shocked, confused and just did not know how to react at all.

[EVDebs]

64. MSNBC SUYT ! Matthews is a certifiable blithering idiot eom

[Skarbrowe]

63. She had me in a "daze" too. I wasn't surprised when Tweety said something.

Dang, that young woman is attractive. I was watching her very closely and not realizing why until Tweety asked her to lean into the camera. Not sticking up for what he did, but it felt like he got caught up in the moment like I did. HA! And that's a big Tweety HA! I did think it was weird, but she is a really, really attractive young woman. It did appear that he caught her way off guard and she said she would have to look at the tape later to see what he was talking about. I thought he just wanted a closer look at her face and giving her a big compliment. Not too professional, though. Nope.

Geez... Erin Burnett...I'm in love! Bet she doesn't stay in financial news very long. Wait, I mean I want her to do what suits her brains and attitude. I'm sounding like an old pervert. :silly:

[mudesi]

67. Ditto. She is a beautiful woman, and I was also attracted by the closeup of her eyes

I happened to stumble upon it live when it happened, and was quite shocked that Matthews said on air exactly what I was thinking. Talk about not having self control! Very unprofessional. I felt a little embarrassed for her afterwords.

There is a lot to dislike about Matthews, but in this case I can honestly say that it needs go no further than a private apology. We're all human, after all, and that includes Matthews. The woman is beautiful and we straight men sometimes lose the battle between the primitive part of our brain and the developed, rational part.

[Skarbrowe]

88. gaaa..I'm not even a man and she got to me. I say no more!

[aquart]

101. She was there to deliver the news?

This was not the Playboy channel?

How nice of you to think what he did was a compliment. I do not.

[Skarbrowe]

107. That was my immediate thought, but it felt wrong and was.

I'm not sticking up for Tweety. Erin Burnett is obviously an extremely intelligent woman and what he did crossed all kinds of lines. I was just pointing out the fact that I was thinking the same thing, but respectively..in my mind and not on a TV program. I agree that Tweety was wrong.

[RufusTFirefly]

65. Sheepish onscreen apology definitely required by Tweety

I'm not sure a harassment suit is in order, but it's depressing that a male host can feel "safe" enough to make a comment like this on a national news show. The damage it does to Burnett's reputation (even though she had nothing to do with it), is both incalculable and, more importantly, intangible. She may find herself turned down for a job later on from people who have drawn false conclusions about her and don't know where they come from. (Frankly, as I write this, I start to lean toward advocating a suit.)

And I'm a straight former journalist with a pulse, so I can't say I don't understand Tweety's feelings, but they have absolutely no place on the air.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

66. Imagine his reaction if she landed on an aircraft carrier.

:puke:

[orleans]

70. or if she ran for president in the republik party--he'd be drooling over

the way her appearance "smells" only i doubt he'd make the aqua velva reference about her like he did about fred thompson



WILL SOMEONE NEUTER THIS GUY? OR FUCK HIM SO HE CAN STOP VERBALLY GROPING GUESTS AND ANYONE IN THE MEDIA WHO CATCHES HIS EYE?

[Skarbrowe]

90. Oh please don't let her be a Republican. Even I have standards.

No, I don't. She's still beautiful. Nah, there was something in her eyes and the way she was truly embarrassed when he asked her to lean into the camera. She's no Republican. Just kidding! Guess I'll have to stay away from her reports or I'm going to fall victim to the Tweety syndrome.

[smalll]

69. No defense of Tweety,

but whoa - she's hot. Mad hot!

[krj44]

71. well,

she did look pretty damn good.fact is i`d crawl over 3 miles of broken beer bottles to see her panties go by in the laundry truck,and so would you.

[Banned_Wagon]

78. Do you have a link to this story?

Or is this a personal assumption? I cannot find anything about this online anywhere.

On Edit: Not that I am defending Matthews, I think he is a slime ball, but just asking! It's not like he said <"Ohh Nice Tits">

[tom_paine]

79. He's very bisexually horny, isn't he?

(not that there's anything wrong with that, per se)

He will check out the hot stock babes in one breath while waxing poetic about McCain's Man Musk or George W.'s Flight Suit Man Pouch.

Truly a rennesaince man, eh?

[leaninglib]

82. Oh God...

[Mutineer]

83. I can't believe he did this on air.

There are some things you do not do or say in the workplace (even if you might think them). But to do it live on national tv? WTF was he thinking? Does he think? :shrug:

[onenote]

85. I'm curious ...where did you get your law degree?

Because if you think the law allows anyone who saw tweety's performance has standing to sue for harasasment, you neec to give the degree back.

The law is intended to protect employees..standing exists not only for the employee that is the direct victim of harassment, but also for other employees who are subjected to a hostile workplace.

Non-employees? Nope.

[Dems Will Win]

91. You might be right but because he did it on tape, any of the female employees

at NBC can see it and might just talk about it this time with their Supervisor. If Tweety's supervisor does not talk to him about that, then NBC could be held liable in a future suit.

It behooves the female reporters to do this, as Tweety's repeated sexual compliments are humiliating but also might prevent them from getting promoted later on if this gets more controversial than it just became.

Tweety blew it this time, and it changed the game backstage there I bet. Erin Burnett is already in the news as challengin Maria for title of Stock Babe, and I can't imagine that this can help her career, although maybe I am wrong.

In any case, I believe it makes it much harder for a beautiful woman to be taken seriously in what she is saying if every other comment from the male anchor is how beautiful she is!

He is destroying her credibility in this fashion, making her a NILF -- instead of an intelligent reporter, she's a gorgeous news bimbo.

So there is definitely reason for the other lady reporters to speak to a Supervisor there and give Tweety a ZING.

[onenote]

93. I agree tweety acted improperly.

and other employees have standing to complain (whether what he did would be found actionable is less clear). My only point was that it is not correct that "ANYONE who saw it" can sue.

[Justyce]

86. Reminds me of Samantha Bee's NILF...

and Chris Matthews is a pig. Watch him suck up to DeLay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBRBS-1BzLg

[Venus Dog]

87. He's been doing shit like this for years and getting away with it

And it does seem to be getting worse - while the spittle drips down his chin :puke:

Tweety has been running amok in the sandbox for a long time -- and his masters pay him very well for whatever it is he does for them.

[SarahB]

92. My take:

The creep is trying to publicly overcompensate for his (now) reputation for man crushes. He's insecure regarding his ambiguous sexual orientation and is overtly trying to "prove" his heterosexuality.

[buddhamama]

94. i saw the segment last night

and was upset for Erin Burnett. i don't hate Matthews either, not like some anyway, but what he did was uncool; inappropriate and unprofessional.

[Doc Martin]

95. Saw it and wondered what is going on

It was so inappropriate. I had no idea what he was thinking.

[caraher]

96. Apparently Tweety isn't the only one

I wonder if this other guy has faced any consequences? http://investment.suite101.com/discussion.cfm/58/142-144#message_142

[Dems Will Win]

105. Thanks for this. It looks like CNBC has a culture that allows on-air sex harassment to me!

This is now an issue and Erin even lashed back at Cramer, warning he could lose his job!

Did anyone see this yesterday? I remember you could see Erin's bra thru her green sweater yesterday... I guess she did something about that and Cramer made a comment. If he did this on the air, it is hard to believe he'd not be subject to some "sensitivity training class" at the very least.
.
.


From: John Carragher 3/28/2007 8:16:55 AM
.
post from yahoo.
.
has cramer stepped over the line. she should give her formal apology on today's show. also should get a serious reprimand from general electric.
.
who missed his clown act today on the "stop trading" 2 minute bit.
.
First, Cramer called Erin Burnett "Erin NoBra" as he referenced her lime green sweater (hard nipples i wonder?). Then, while she was obviously embarassed and stunned, he went on to say something garbled about her "limes", to which she gulped and responded to by saying "that is how you find yourself off the program." Then, she punted to Dylan Rattigan who looked stunned and said something~ "That is Crazy!"... then he paused and went on.

(From post above)

Here's a better pic of her and why Tweety apparently lost it.

[LuckyLib]

109. A very attractive woman -- completely interchangeable with all of the other "news girls."

[SoCalDem]

115. Looks like Ms Burnett might be a wealthy young woman soon

and she's got these things ON TAPE, as they aired before millions of people.

If NBC is supporting these Neanderthal "hosts" , who feel so "comfortable" about openly harassing/embarrassing the "girls" on tv, the network is definitely opening themselves up to a lawsuit and the loss of TONS o' CASH..

[Renew Deal]

99. kick

:kick:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

102. yes i saw it and indeed it was

[DubyaSux]

103. Just so I understand...

....if you compliment a woman on her beauty, that's ok. But if you do a really bad job of comlimenting a women's beauty, you should be fired and sued.

Chris Matthews is a lot of things, but although the exchange was more than a little awkward, he wasn't hitting on her or verbally molesting her. Her face is very friendly to the camera and it was clear to me that Matthews was trying to get more of her face in the camera.

But that's just me - I'm not really a negative person that looks for the worst in people no matter who they are.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

104. HE IS A TWIT, SHOULD HAVE A COMEDY SHOW

:spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:

[FedUp_Queer]

106. As much of a pig (and lightweight) he is...

this is NOT sexual harrassment. How funny that someone would even say so. That thing you cited is not the law. It may be a regulation or what's called a piece of regulatory guidance, it is not the law. Morever, Title VII deals WITH EMPLOYEES. I hope this post was a joke or satire (if it was, the joke's on me) because as a serious post, it's just not to be take "seriously."

[mudesi]

111. VIDEO

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x46689

[helderheid]

117. THANK YOU

[Bitwit1234]

114. I saw it posted on another site but I didn't watch it at the time

Revisiting my sites and see.

[Marnieworld]

118. inexcusable behavior

As outrageous as any Imus comment. I'm livid. here this woman worked her whole life to get to national Tv news reporting and in an instant she is reduced to cleavage! It was as if he asked her to touch her elbows together something little boys did to a developing young marnieworld on a playground not for two adults on national TV.

I don't know about anyone else having the ability to sue or get some punitive actions against him other than her. She should be calling Gloria Alred.

:grr:

[Eurobabe]

121. Oh, I heard him drooling over his other on air hottie, Margaret Brennan

Many times, he's remarked about her. To the point of her embarrassment.

[jillan]

122. If this makes it to "Worst Person in the World"

Then we'll know Tweety is in twouble.

[SoCalDem]

123. Never happen.. he's a "brother"..

MSNBC would be all over KEITH, if he dares to do it..

What I CAN see happening, is O'Lielly picking up on it:(

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

125. DildO'Reilly had better be pretty careful about accusing other people

of sexual harassment. There was, after all, the loofah/felafel incident, which led to a BIG settlement...

[jillan]

127. SoCal is right

hope he is not out for revenge!

[blayne]

124. I might regret this, but I'm going to say it...

I like Chris Matthews. I love Keith, but after Countdown I usually watch Hardball. Yes, he usually does comment on the pretty ladies-you should have seen him when he had the Obama, Giuliani, and Hot for Hillary girl on his show. That aside, though, I really like his show.

[Sparkly]

129. He was *ridiculous* with the young woman who did the Hillary video.

I think he's a composite of the Fred Willard characters in "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind."

[California Griz]

126. This may not be popular but

We live in the most sexually repressed modern country in the world. If we've gotten to the point where you can't even tell somebody they look good just shoot me now.

[Sparkly]

130. I'm guessing you're a guy. nt

[Sam Ervin jret]

134. DU Men wake UP

This is no different for this woman, trying to get power the only way left to her by the male power structure, than it is for a non ruling party to get power when in a position of less power. She must be beautiful
or she will not be allowed to get on T.V., but alas, if she is too beautiful she will be too powerful for you, all too fragile males, and you will be unable to control yourselves and your ridiculous comments. Too many comments on this line have traced the problem back to the looks of this professional and not to the unprofessional comments and actions of her coworker. Too many DU comments are already focusing on her as a thing of beauty, which is not at all the subject of this issue, but rather the problem that this woman will now have to face because of this comment from this coworker. Do you not see you are proving the very point that the LAW protecting women is there for? This coworker has caused even you, my friends and I hope more enlightened 1's, to see this professional as is not meant to be. People who will judge this professional first as a thing, an object (even a beautiful object is not so beautiful as a person) rather than an individual with rights. A person of and by her self. Many of you are already talking about her as if it was the desk, or her clothes, or her own behavior or as if it may be her background that may have caused this to happen. It was his power reaction to her less power position taking the form, as it does for so many women in so many cultures, of a man's sexual impulse being used to control her behavior. LEAN IN ? I'D LEAN ON.
And no I am not a homosexual, just a mom with 2 sons that she is trying to raise not to be afraid to be REAL MEN who RESPECT women.
RESPECT find out what it means to US You all should KNOW a power stealing play BY NOW. Please wake up. We work much better as a team, yin and yang, homosexual, or heterosexual, male, or female. DIVIDED we really will FALL

[SoCalDem]

136. read the post about what ANOTHER NBC employee said to her ON-AIR?

If she does NOT sue NBC, she's nuts..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1562074&mesg_id=1566065

Dems Will Win Donating Member (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-11-07 10:39 AM
Response to Reply #96

105. Thanks for this. It looks like CNBC has a culture that allows on-air sex harassment to me!

This is now an issue and Erin even lashed back at Cramer, warning he could lose his job!

Did anyone see this yesterday? I remember you could see Erin's bra thru her green sweater yesterday... I guess she did something about that and Cramer made a comment. If he did this on the air, it is hard to believe he'd not be subject to some "sensitivity training class" at the very least.
.
.


From: John Carragher 3/28/2007 8:16:55 AM
.
post from yahoo.
.
has cramer stepped over the line. she should give her formal apology on today's show. also should get a serious reprimand from general electric.
.
who missed his clown act today on the "stop trading" 2 minute bit.
.
First, Cramer called Erin Burnett "Erin NoBra" as he referenced her lime green sweater (hard nipples i wonder?). Then, while she was obviously embarassed and stunned, he went on to say something garbled about her "limes", to which she gulped and responded to by saying "that is how you find yourself off the program." Then, she punted to Dylan Rattigan who looked stunned and said something~ "That is Crazy!"... then he paused and went on.

[California Griz]

140. hold on a second

"Do you not see you are proving the very point that the LAW protecting women is there for?"
You talk about being divided yet you make a statement like this. The law is there to protect all people not just women. I watched two women newscasters on CNN last week commenting on how handsome there male counterpart was. I didn't hear any comments of outrage about it anywhere. 100 times a day on TV somebody complements a woman on her beauty. Don't get me wrong I can't stand Matthews but I think he is being singled out here unfairly. I would never tell someone how they should feel if you were offended so be it. I was offended by what the woman said more than I was what Matthews said.

Respect isn't something I just give. I think it has to be earned. Some people think the President should be respected just because they are President. I doubt you will find many here that feel that way. When it comes to the news media I respect very few of them. I definitely don't respect this woman if she believes I don't have the right to own a house. If Matthews had complemented her on her work instead of her beauty my response would not be printable here.

[iverglas]

142. thank you

It was indeed a "power stealing play", exactly. They're all over the landscape.

[ladywnch]

132. I just saw the you tube clip and it is just strange....she doesn't even

have a particularly low cut top on.....standard top 2 buttons unbuttoned......no cleavage. The shot in this post is NOT what she was wearing at the time........ I have NO idea what he was trying to 'get at'.....except maybe to prove just how much he is losing it! Last time I looked he was advertising himself as a news programs not a T&A show......with no T or A! I certainly don't think I would call him out on a sexual harassment charge on this. I would likely look to embarrass him in the office...very publicly at some later date, but I wouldn't stigmatize my career with this. He is just a nut job!

[sarcasmo]

137. She does look great.

[iverglas]

141. it isn't sexual harassment - but it IS hostile environment discrimination based on sex

if the employer permits it.

I said this upthread, but I was kind of mumbling, and I think it's important to understand the concepts.


Imagine this particular fool saying something like that to a male reporter. Never mind any gay/straight stuff -- just that his response to a piece of work by a male colleague was to issue an incomprehensible instruction, which the colleague would automatically interpret as work-related and feel stupid that he didn't understand, and so act confused and thus feel and look unprofessional. And the instruction turned out to be a prologue to a comment about the male colleague's appearance.

Do we imagine that the male journalist in question would be impressed that he'd been made to look foolish by being treated in such a juvenile way on national television?

That's what was done to this woman.

This is hostile-environment discrimination on the basis of sex: a co-worker treating the woman differently because she is a woman in a way that interferes with her professional activities and makes her working environment more difficult and unpleasant than a man's in a similar situation. For which employers are liable if they permit it.

I'm googling because I'm not up on the legal situation in the US ... I don't know that I would characterize this as "hostile environment sexual harassment":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_environment_sexual_harassment

since the sexual content of the behaviour was minimal; simply as hostile enviornment discrimination. Differential treatment based on the woman's sex that makes her subject to less advantageous working conditions than a man in her position.

[Maru Kitteh]

145. OK, I was actually watching that one and here is what I saw

She was, previous to the screenshot you see above, leaning in WAY too close to the camera. It had kind of a comical, fisheye appearance thing going on. I don't know why it was funny but it was. Hubby and I both commented and snickered a little on that - before tweets said anything.

I think that's what he was remarking on, and in this (one particular) instance I'd have to side with the defendant.


You want something truly offensive? Scroll back into HER commentary where she said, and I paraphrase "People should be careful what they wish for, if China stops making children's toys with lead paint and tainted food their production costs will go up and you'll see that reflected in price increases at your Wal*Mart". :puke:

now that's offensive

[Skarbrowe]

148. Ahh, I had to make one more reply on this subject. I agree! I knew

that there was something different about the way she looked on camera. I also felt that she was leaning into the camera, the fish-eye thing you mentioned. Then you are absolutely correct about that comment about China and and I was still spinning from that odd sentence and then Tweety asks her to lean into the camera. I think you've got it right there. She was already leaning in and it's possible he was teasing her about that and then covered it up or simply added his real observation by stating how attractive she was.

I'm not a Tweety apologist, but that could be closer to what happened.

I'm not sure if she was being a bit sarcastic or not about the poison products from China, and I know she felt uncomfortable saying that not all people are meant to own homes. The whole thing was strange. Ok, no more from me about this one.

[derby378]

146. Okay, DU, you just blew my mind...

What's next out of Tweety's mouth? "Back it up, Erin! Back it up! Oooh, Daddy likes!"

:mad: