Romney Spokesperson Mocks MSNBC For Paying Men More Than Women, Andrea Mitchell Agrees

Speaking with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Thursday, senior adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, Barbara Comstock, was asked about Romney’s position on the Lilly Ledbetter Act. Comstock said it was clear that there were pay inequality issues, and cited MSNBC who she says pays their male employees more than their female employees. Mitchell agreed with Comstock that this was the case.

“For Lilly Ledbetter, this was not just a legal issue,” Mitchell explained to Comstock. “This was the fact that she was not permitted to sue for equal pay because the statue had run out and the law said, if you didn’t know the men you were working with were making more money, which many of us don’t know – we don’t have access to those confidential…”

“We know here at MSNBC the guys get paid more,” Comstock interjected.

“We certainly do,” Mitchell replied.

 Watch the clip below:



UPDATE: MSNBC has sent the following comment from Andrea Mitchell:

“I was referring to the industry as a whole. This remark has been taken out of context.”

And also from MSNBC spokesperson Lauren Skowronski:

“We take this issue very seriously and I can tell you that we’re proud of the gender equality at MSNBC.”

UPDATE: Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski tweeted her support for MSNBC’s hiring and compensation practices on Thursday afternoon: