Rep. Matt Salmon’s gay son: CNN, MSNBC canceled interviews when he wouldn’t bash father

The gay son of Rep. Matt Salmon, Arizona Republican, told KPNX-TV in Phoenix on Sunday that both MSNBC’s “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell” and CNN’s “Piers Morgan Live” canceled interviews with him because he refused to attack his father on the air.

Matt R. Salmon, the son, said MSNBC canceled his appearance because “they had intended to be critical of him and … I was unwilling to do so.” He also said CNN “seemed very gung ho about” an interview at first, but when he said he was supportive of his father, “they seemed to lose interest.”

“People want controversy,” Mr. Salmon added.

A spokeswoman for MSNBC told BuzzFeed’s Andrew Kaczynski that “a producer had initial conversations with Matt, like we do with many potential guests every day, but he was never formally booked for the show.”

Someone close to Piers Morgan’s show said: “This isn’t accurate. The show simply booked up with other guests on a different topic. Happens all the time in cable news.”