Chris Hayes Apologizes For George Wallace Error (VIDEO)

Chris Hayes Apologizes For Mistake

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Chris Hayes apologized for what he called "a stupid, inexcusable and historically illiterate mistake" made on his show Tuesday night.

Hayes was referring to an "All In" segment marking the 50th anniversary of former Alabama governor George Wallace's attempts to block two black students from enrolling in the Unversity of Alabama. The segment — in which the MSNBC anchor called Wallace a "villain" who took a stand for "evil" — incorrectly labelled the former governor a Republican. He was actually a Democrat.

Hayes did not refer to Wallace as a Republican, but the chyron did.

"It’s a stupid, inexcusable and historically illiterate mistake," Hayes said via a spokesperson. "We’ll correct it on-air tonight. I should have caught it and apologize to viewers for not catching it." He tweeted a similar response on Wednesday.

Before You Go

Ann Curry

Faces of NBC News

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot