Mika Brzezinski has apologized after coming under for from Mark Halperin’s sexual harassment accusers who she urged to meet with him earlier in the week to give him a chance to say sorry to them.
The Morning Joe host sparked controversy on Friday morning when she said on-air of Halperin, her former MSNBC colleague: ‘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.
‘There are some hypocrisies here, when things happen and men actually want to validate the truth, that’s important that we actually allow that,’ she said.
Brzezinski admitted afterwards that ‘what I just said was explosive’. Her co-host Scarborough, who she is engaged to, said it was ‘truthful’.
Her remarks were met with ire by Halperin’s numerous accusers who said Brzezinski’s comments were ‘inappropriate’, ‘unethical’ and ‘harmful’ in a letter which was circulated around NBC staff and given to The Washington Post.
One labeled her ‘disgusting’ and revealed that when she went public in October with her accusation that Halperin assaulted her, Brzezinski invited her onto Morning Joe to face him and said she would ‘moderate’.
Brzezinski took their outrage to heart and, on Friday night, issued an apology.
She also revealed for the first time that she too was the victim of sexual assault but declined to give further details.
Mika Brzezinski has apologized for her remark on Friday morning (shown above) that Mark Halperin’s accusers should meet up with him face-to-face to allow him to apologize to them
‘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 it is not my place.
‘It isn’t my call to make, and for that I am truly sorry,’ her apology read.
Brzezinski and Scarboroguh were discussed Sen. Al Franken’s departure from the Senate and the ‘all out war on truth’ when she made the comments.
They both said Franken’s departure – which was prompted by the claims of several women who say he sexually assaulted and harassed them – ‘didn’t feel right’ because it was first announced by Republican strategist Roger Stone before they went public.
‘What happened with Al Franken doesn’t feel right, it feels political,’ Brzezinski said.
Scarborough questioned why more Democrats did not want to know more of Stone’s involvement.
It led Brzezinski into her comments on Halperin and her claim that she has been ‘pouring through’ the mountainous cases of celebrity and political sexual harassment and assault which have emerged in the past two months.
‘We also have some men who are willing to face the music who are willing to face the facts, who are willing to admit to their actions 10, 20 years ago even five years ago.
‘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.
‘There are some hypocrisies here. When things happen and men actually want to validate that truth, that’s important that we actually allow that if we want to grow as a society and learn from each other.
‘If we just want to strike people down for political motivation or for anger, we’re not going to get anywhere,’ she professed.
Halperin accuser Emily Miller tweeted this after the letter from the other accusers emerged
Mika said she knew her remarks were ‘explosive’ but that ‘we should allow men’ accused of sexual misconduct the chance to acknowledge it and apologize for it. Her co-host and fiance Joe Scarborough said she was being ‘truthful’
Victims? Mark Halperin (left) was fired from NBC in October over the allegations that he sexually assaulted and harassed women years earlier while working for NBC. Mika said he ought to have been able to apologize to them in person. She also said Sen. Al Franken’s departure from the Senate over claims he sexually assaulted and harassed different women ‘didn’t feel right’
Scarborough, who was filming in a different studio, watched on in admiration.
When his fiancée remarked with a sigh and a smile: ‘I know I just said something incredibly, what’s the word, explosive,’ he chimed in: ‘Truthful, truthful.’
His view was not shared by Halperin’s accusers who accused Brzezinski of a lack of ‘human decency, editorial judgement and compassion.’
‘As journalists and victims of sexual assault, we vehemently disagree with Mika Brzezinski’s inappropriate comments.
‘She suggested that women who were assaulted by Mark Halperin owe him an opportunity to meet with him in person so that he can ‘apologize face-to-face’.
‘Sexual harassment and assault is illegal in the workplace, and represents a violation of the policies and standards of NBC News. It is an unethical and harmful request to ask that sexual assault victims confront their accusers in person and, in particular, on live tv.
‘Ms. Brzezinski pointed out that Mark Halperin should have a chance to ‘validate the truth’.
‘If Mr. Halperin feels genuine remorse and wants to apologize, or otherwise try to repair the substantial damage he has done, he can do so in the public domain, through the full acknowledgement of his wrongdoing and an honest account of his departure from ABC news.
‘We would ask Ms. Brezinski for higher standards of editorial judgement, compassion and human decency. Ms Brezinski and her co-host Joe Scarborough have a long-standing personal friendship with Mark Halperin which appears to be shaping their position on his case,’ they said.
Emily Miller, an ABC reporter who said in October that Halperin sexually assaulted her, then claimed that Brzezinski ‘called her’ to try to get her onto Morning Joe to face him on-air and that she would ‘moderate’.
‘When i was the first person to go public about these accusations, Mika called me and said Halperin denied it.
‘She said she will “moderate” ON AIR between me and Halperin who sexually assaulted me. I have many people who will vouch for me,’ Miller tweeted.
She later called Brzezinski’s suggestion ‘disgusting’.
In an interview with CNN, Miller added that Brzezinski would have had her ‘retraumatize’ herself by going on-air with Halperin to ‘boost ratings’.
‘I can’t retraumatize myself to be in the same room with him to please Mika Brzezinski and her rich and famous friends.
At first, Brzezinski defended herself against criticism online and revealed that she too was the victim of sexual assault
‘If Halperin genuinely wanted to apologize, he could send a letter or put it in public domain. Instead he has on the record denied my accusations which is extremely painful as a victim to be denied the truth.
‘It is disgusting and unethical of Mika to use the power of her show to shame me, a sexual assault victim, into meeting with the man who did that to me,’ she fumed.
Before issuing her apology, Brzezinski stuck to her point when questioned over it by a viewer on Twitter.
She cited the fact that she herself was a victim of sexual assault to legitimize how seriously she took the issue.
‘Asa victim of sexual abuse-assault actually, I DO understand. He was never caught. I DO understand. This SHOULD be a conversation. Not anger,’ she said.
She later retweeted the supportive remarks of a follower who said there should not be a ‘blanket guilty verdict’.
Brzezinski was slammed not just by the accusers but with Morning Joe viewers who sided with them
Earlier in the week, Brzezinski sparked controversy with her comment that women should not be the ‘judge, jury and cops’ because it could lead to fewer women being hired.
On Tuesday, she said: ‘Are we the judge and the jury and the cops? Are women the judge, the jury and the cops? Is that where we want to go? Because I don’t see us getting hired, if that’s the case.
‘So we need to figure out a better way to get rid of harassers, real harassers. We need to think of a better way to deal with people who need to be educated. The rules are changing, that’s great. Let’s be fair in this process.’
She later said in the program that the current environment is actually hurting women in the workplace, stating: ‘I know men who say they won’t hire women now, so that’s great.’
Halperin was fired by NBC in October over accusations that he sexually harassed several women while working as a political journalist for ABC News years earlier.
He apologized immediately, writing on Twitter: ‘I am profoundly sorry for the pain and anguish I have caused by my past actions.
‘I apologize sincerely to the women I mistreated.’
Halperin (second from right) was fired from NBC in October. He is pictured with Brzezinski and Scarborough in 2010