NBC paid thousands of dollars to an assistant producer on MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" nearly two decades ago after she brought a sexual harassment complaint against the longtime host, The Daily Caller reported Saturday.

The website, citing two sources, reported that NBC paid the woman $40,000 to settle her claim against Matthews in 1999. An NBC spokesperson told The Daily Caller the network paid a smaller, unspecified amount as part of a severance package.

The woman complained to executives that Matthews, now 71, had made inappropriate comments to her and made inappropriate jokes about her to others.

An MSNBC spokesman told The Daily Caller that Matthews had been slapped with a formal reprimand at the time the woman made her complaint. The website reported that the network decided that the complaints were "inappropriate and juvenile," but were not intended as propositions.

Matthews has hosted "Hardball" on MSNBC since 1997. He also hosted the syndicated "Chris Matthews Show" between 2002 and 2013 and has authored eight books, most recently a biography of Robert Kennedy.

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