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."
"I've actually tried to offer him to them," Brzezinski added. "They don't want to talk to him." Brzezinski went on to express frustration with the accusers' "hypocrisies," adding that "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." Watch below. Jeva Lange