Who is Matt Siegel? Boston radio host storms off air when told not to joke about Demi Lovato’s non-binary status
After being told he couldn't make a joke about pop star Demi Lovato coming out as non-binary, a radio DJ stormed off the air.
Lovato, 28, announced the news in a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday, May 19, stating that they would be changing their pronouns to they/them, which enraged radio host Matt Siegel. Sigel, 71, the host of Massachusetts' KISS 108's 'Matty in the Morning Show', gave a lengthy speech the day after Lovato's announcement, saying that his boss ordered him not to make fun of the singer's non-binary status.
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"By the way, it's a joke - the whole binary thing. I don't care what Demi Lovato does but now we need to worry about how you might offend someone", he said. This is believed to be the first time he has stormed off the popular Boston radio show, which has been on the air since January 12, 1981, according to the Daily Mail.
Who is Matt Siegel?
Matt Siegel hosts the 'Matty in the Morning Show' on KISS 108 in Massachusetts. The show has a long history in Boston, having first aired on January 12, 1981. Matt has collaborated with a number of co-hosts, including Bill Rossi, Lisa Lipps, Billy Costa and Lisa Donovan, who are currently on the show.
During high school, Siegel was thrust into the limelight for the first time when he auditioned to emcee the school talent show, which was a big step for a shy and reserved student at the time. He got the job and was told he was a natural in front of the camera. Years later, while student teaching at Oneonta University, a professor who enjoyed his classes encouraged him to pursue a career in show business.
His first radio job was a daytime shift in Oneonta, New York, followed by a job with Tucson, Arizona's KWFM-FM, a radical underground progressive rock station, in 1972. Following that, he worked at Warner Bros. Records as a freelance producer and commercial voice-over announcer. He has been the host of KISS 108’s morning show since January 12, 1981. As host of 'Matty In The Morning', Siegel won the National Association of Broadcasters' Marconi Award for Personality of the Year (major market) in 2001 and 2009, according to the NAB.
Siegel and his wife Maryann live in Newton, Massachusetts. Alexandra, Lilly and Chloe (twins), and Olivia are his four children. Alexandra Siegel has appeared in 'Funny or Die' videos, made guest appearances on ABC Family's 'Switched at Birth' and HBO's 'Eastbound and Down', and was featured in Taco Bell's 'Hello Father' commercial for their rolled chicken tacos in 2014.
What did Matt Siegel say about Demi Lovato?
"Today I was anti-wokeness and I can't do that, so basically, what I'm told is, I can talk about light, funny things... but I can't do what I really want to do, which is just be a funny comic and tell it like it is," the DJ said. The 'Sorry Not Sorry' singer revealed that they are non binary, saying that they don't want to be seen as an "expert or spokesperson," and that sharing the news with their fans has "opened up another level of vulnerability." The news became a talking point for Siegel, who has worked in Boston radio for more than 40 years, but he was reprimanded after allegedly making light of the situation.
"I was just told, and it's nothing personal because I like my boss, but he just called and said I have to stop talking about what I've been talking about this morning. I loved the radio show this morning. I'm totally dead serious," Siegel is heard saying in the audio. "I felt like I was back. We're laughing and we're having fun…this is why I got rich. Okay. Because I told it like it is to my listeners for 40 bleeping years. They pulled the plug on me and said you can't talk about what you're talking about," he continued.
"I am the biggest of all time, and they said, 'Shut up, Matt! Stop talking.' Well, I hope you're happy, because I just stopped talking. Matty out," he added, before storming off. He apologized to his co-hosts, for putting them "in this position", but that he was "told by my boss I cannot talk about what I want to talk about." "So basically I offended right-wing people and now I offended left-wing people. Basically what they want me to do is you know a lightweight show," he added.
On his show, Siegel also revealed that he had been reprimanded in the past for criticizing then-President Donald 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.