Brian Williams has been rebuked by MSNBC for being “patronizing” to the network’s biggest star, Rachel Maddow.
After Williams hijacked Maddow’s show to break the Syria missile news earlier this month, he turned to her live on air at the end of the segment and said,“Thanks for visiting tonight. Glad you were a part of our coverage.”
Viewers — who were already mad that MSNBC slipped “Lyin’ Brian” in to break the news when Maddow was already at the anchor desk talking about Syria — flipped out.
@Barbvas tweeted, “Annoyed to hear Brian Williams thanking Rachel Maddow for assisting with coverage — he took over her show!!”
Fans of Maddow — who has been enjoying a massive ratings surge recently — erupted on social media, also accusing MSNBC of being sexist by bringing in a male anchor to break the big news on Maddow’s 9 p.m. show when she could have handled it better herself.
To make matters worse, wily Williams also made a moron of himself by repeatedly referring to the bombs as “beautiful” on the April 6 broadcast.
A source at the network said, “Not only did Brian go way over the top with his coverage of the missile strike, he then totally patronized Rachel by thanking her for ‘visiting’ her own show and being ‘a part’ of his ‘beautiful’ coverage! Has he not learned anything from ‘Misremember-gate’?”
Williams was fired from NBC Nightly News after he was suspended for six months in 2015 after he famously “misremembered” his experiences during the Iraq War. He was bumped to MSNBC as a breaking-news anchor — who can apparently pop up in anyone’s show and say whatever he likes — as well as hosting an 11 p.m. wrap-up hour.
Sources said MSNBC chief Phil Griffin was furious with Williams’ disdainful treatment of Maddow. According to a source, “Phil gave Brian a very stern rebuke, telling him, ‘Don’t you ever do that again.’ But Rachel didn’t seem bothered by it and just laughed it off.”
An MSNBC rep declined to comment.