Chris Matthews has issued an apology after a video surfaced in which the MSNBC anchor joked about a “Bill Cosby pill” before interviewing Hillary Clinton in early 2016.
“This was a terrible comment I made in poor taste during the height of the Bill Cosby headlines. I realize that’s no excuse. I deeply regret it and I’m sorry,” Matthews told New York Magazine’s The Cut, who had obtained and published the video.
In the video, which The Cut published on January 12, Matthews, while preparing for his interview with Clinton in January 2016, first asks about using waters presumably reserved for Clinton.
“Can I have some of the queen’s waters? precious waters?” he asks, before subsequently remarking, “where’s that Bill Cosby pill I brought with me?” and laughing at himself.
Multiple women have accused Cosby of sexual assault, which included allegations that he had drugged them. Cosby was brought to trial last year, but it ended in a mistrial. He is expected to be retried in April.
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Write to Alana Abramson at Alana.Abramson@time.com