Sky News Stands by Journalist Following Heated Exchange With Abdul El-Sayed: ‘We’re Proud of Our Correspondent, Who Was Doing His Job’

Sky News has said it is “proud” of U.S. correspondent James Matthews following his heated exchange with newly-elected Senator Abdul El-Sayed, telling Variety the journalist “was doing his job.”

Meanwhile Matthews himself has weighed in on the confrontation, saying he hadn’t had a chance to ask the politician any questions directly before El-Sayed made a beeline towards him and started quizzing him.

A clip of the two men talking over each other, taken outside a Detroit polling station on Tuesday, went viral this week, clocking up over 12 million views on Twitter in less than 48 hours.

The exchange saw El-Sayed hold Matthews by the shoulders as he repeatedly told him he wouldn’t answer his questions because he worked for an international media outlet.

“You’re a journalist in the U.K.,” the politician told Matthews. “You know how many votes I want to get in the U.K.? Zero. I am never running for office in the U.K. So I absolutely do not care what you think or the questions you ask.”

When Matthews protested that Sky News has a large international audience, El-Sayed responded: “Like five people.”

El-Sayed also accused Matthews of “chasing me around,” which the journalist denied on camera, replying: “Abdul, I’m not chasing you. I’m asking you questions.”

An older video of the two men interacting, in which Matthews asks El-Sayed to respond to Donald Trump’s claim that he is “full of shit,” also began to circulate online following the latest exchange. That video was originally posted on Sky News’ social platforms two months ago.

In a statement, Sky News told Variety: “We’re proud of our correspondent James Matthews, who was doing his job: covering the election campaign and asking straightforward questions on behalf of our audiences.”

“The outcome of U.S. elections has ramifications globally, including in the U.K. and across the 138 countries worldwide where millions of people consume Sky News.”

Matthews has also written his own account of the exchange for the Sky News website, saying it had been a “challenge for Sky News to reach El-Sayed” and that they hadn’t had “the chance to ask him any questions before he began to quiz me.”

“What ensued, in public, wasn’t pretty,” the journalist continued. “For a politician typically sure-footed in his dealings with the media, it felt like a misstep.”

Matthews is a BAFTA-winning journalist who has been based in Washington since taking up the role of U.S. correspondent in 2022. He has been with Sky News for over two decades.

After the latest confrontation went viral, a number of U.K. journalists showed their support for Matthews, including his Sky News colleagues Alex Crawford, Cathy Newman and Jayne Secker.

“Bravo to our colleague @jamesmatthewsky for always asking the pertinent question and putting into context just why what happens in Michigan – and America – doesn’t stay in Michigan,” Crawford wrote on X. “The election most certainly matters elsewhere – and non-voters have a significance of their own.”

Newman added “Incredible how @jamesmatthewsky keeps his cool here. Top journo” while Secker wrote: “Vintage @jamesmatthewsky here doing his job admirably – politely asking questions of those seeking power – and an interesting insight into the character of @AbdulElSayed, a man who we will all be hearing a lot more about over the next two years.”