Martin Bashir, the controversial MSNBC host, has stepped down and quit on Wednesday, it was reported.
He told Mediate: “After making an on-air apology, I asked for permission to take some additional time out around the Thanksgiving holiday.”
“Upon further reflection, and after meeting with the President of MSNBC, I have tendered my resignation. It is my sincere hope that all of my colleagues, at this special network, will be allowed to focus on the issues that matter without the distraction of myself or my ill-judged comments,” he added.
Bashir made highly controversial statements last month about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. He suggested that someone should defecate in her mouth, and he made the comparison to what slaves endured in Jamaica hundreds of years ago.
“America’s resident dunce Sarah Palin scraping the barrel of her long-deceased mind and using her all-time favorite analogy in an attempt to sound intelligent about the national debt. Given her well-established reputation as a world-class idiot, it’s hardly surprising that she should choose to mention slavery in a way that is abominable to anyone who knows anything about its abominable history,” he said, according to the Daily Mail.
He then made controversial statements about her.
Bashir later issued an apology.
“I deeply regret what was said, will endeavor to work hard at making constructive contributions in the future and will always have a deep appreciation for our viewers – who are the smartest, most compassionate and discerning of all television audiences. I would also wish to express deepest gratitude to my immediate colleagues, and our contributors, all of whom have given so much of themselves to our broadcast,” he added.
