Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski scolds Mark Halperin's accusers for not meeting with him to hear his apology

Mika Brzezinski knew her comments Friday were explosive.
(Image credit: YouTube/MSNBC)

The Morning Joe team found themselves in the middle of the #MeToo scandal this fall when five women came forward to accuse contributing political analyst Mark Halperin of sexual harassment. The story about "our friend" was squeamishly reported on air by co-host Mika Brzezinski, who on Friday said she had tried to connect the accusers to Halperin for an apology and they turned her down.

Brzezinski and her co-host Joe Scarborough were in the process of discussing the varying degrees of sexual misconduct, with Scarborough pointing out that "we have a criminal law system that differentiates between murder and jaywalking." Adding to that point, Brzezinski said: "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." Her example was Halperin, who she said is "more than willing to meet with his accusers and apologize with them face-to-face."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.