Matt Siegel Ends Show After Demi Lovato Warning

But 'Matty in the Morning' host insists he didn't quit
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 20, 2021 12:12 AM CDT
Updated May 20, 2021 2:33 AM CDT
Radio Host Matt Siegel Warned About Demi Lovato Remarks
Demi Lovato performs "Anyone" at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 26, 2020, in Los Angeles.   (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, File)

Asked Wednesday to "stop talking" about Demi Lovato coming out as non-binary, radio host Matt Siegel instead abruptly ended his show. But while it first appeared to some that he had quit (among the things he said was, "I just want to say, I love my listeners ... and it’s been a hell of a run, but I think it’s coming to an end. ... Matty out."), Siegel tells the Boston Globe it isn't so, and that he'll be back on his popular Matty in the Morning show, which has been on the air in Boston for 40 years, Thursday to say more. Siegel was "going against the ‘woke' thing ... against the Demi Lovatos of the world and all that kind of stuff" when his boss called and told him to stop, Siegel said before signing off. (You can listen to that portion of the show here.)

Siegel says he can't win, because he was issued a similar directive last year while criticizing then-President Trump. "If I’m left wing and I go anti-Trump, I get in trouble, and today I was anti-wokeness and I can’t do that," he said on the air. "It’s a joke, the whole binary thing." He later told Boston.com, while misgendering Lovato multiple times in the process, "I’m against her binary thing; I think she’s a troubled woman and a lot of young people are taking her seriously and it bothers me." LGBTQ+ advocates decried Siegel's comments, but iHeartRadio, which owns KISS 108, has not publicly commented on what he said. Siegel said that after meeting with his superiors later Wednesday, he confirmed he would not actually be quitting. (More Demi Lovato stories.)

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