“If I can’t talk about what I’m thinking at this point in my career, I don’t want to be on the radio anymore,” Siegel told his boss after being told he’d “crossed the line.”
Boston radio icon Matt Siegel quit on-air Tuesday after management told him to quit joking about pop-star Demi Lovato's recent announcement that she is non-binary and will be using they/them pronouns.
Today is a day I'm so happy to share more of my life with you all- I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary & will officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward ?
— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato)
Siegel made the announcement before leaving his long-running morning show for good after receiving a phone call from his boss to tone down his rhetoric. This infuriated Siegel, who believes that Demi Lovato is a bad role model for children.
"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," Siegel told Boston.com. "But of course, it's a comedy show, so I did it in the context of jokes."
"We were having fun with it, and my boss called up and said that I'd crossed the line and they didn't want me talking about it anymore," he continued. "I responded by saying, 'If I can't talk about what I'm thinking at this point in my career, I don't want to be on the radio anymore.'"
While abruptly walking off-air, Siegel said that "Matty in the Morning" is the "number one radio show in the history of Boston."
"I am the biggest of all time, and they said, 'Shut up, Matt! Stop talking,'" Siegel said. "Well, I hope you're happy, because I just stopped talking. Matty out."
Although he walked off the show, Siegel said he will most likely be coming back.
"There's no ill feeling between me and my boss or me and my company, none." Siegel said. "They're doing their jobs... his heart was in the right place."
Nevertheless, Siegel was still upset about what had transpired, saying that as a comedian, being told what to say or not say is "the worst thing you can say to a performer."
"At some point, I hate to use this line, but you know the line from 'Billions' — 'What’s the point of having f—k you money if you never say f—k you?'" Siegel said. "If I don't say it now, when? When I’m dead?"
"Let me put it to you this way: Do you think I'm the only one that’s had it with the negativity in the world we live in during this pandemic?" Siegel said. "Do you think I'm the only person that's snapped? I doubt it."
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