MSNBC host apologizes to Steele for ‘master’ comment

MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell issued an on-air apology to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele after receiving a call Wednesday from Steele criticizing comments the host made on the previous night's show.

O'Donnell, a former Democratic aide, said that Steele "is dancing as fast as he can, trying to charm independent voters and tea partiers while never losing sight of his real master and paycheck provider, the Republican National Committee." Steele, an African-American, took issue with the suggestion that he was dancing for his "master."

"I called him back immediately and apologized for using the word he found offensive," O'Donnell said Wednesday night. "Those of us who are not descendants from slaves can never know the full impact of the word 'master' in the ears of an African-American man. Michael Steele told me, 'It sort of stung.'"

And speaking of MSNBC hosts and apologies, Keith Olbermann didn't care for the one offered Wednesday by former CNN host Rick Sanchez. Olbermann said that Sanchez's remarks were not "inartful," as the ex-CNN star described them, but "anti-Semitic." You can watch Olbermann's response below.