Former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield Reportedly Hospitalized After ‘Stroke’, Daughter Files for Conservatorship

Former MTV VJ and 120 Minutes host Matt Pinfield has reportedly been hospitalized following a massive stroke.

Pinfield’s daughter Jessica Pinfield has filed for a temporary conservatorship over her father’s finances and medical care after he suffered a health emergency on January 6, according to TMZ.

Pinfield’s daughter told the outlet that she filed the conservatorship petition over concerns for her father’s finances while he is “incompetent to make decisions.” Us Weekly has reached out for more information on Pinfield’s condition.

Pinfield, 63, has most recently worked in rock radio in Los Angeles, including a Sunday night slot for KLOS and an afternoon drivetime shift for KCSN.

“Everyone at KLOS & Meruelo Media, along with Matt’s family (daughters Jessica and Maya, brother Glen, sister Colleen, mother Nancy), his girlfriend Kara, and the entire rock and roll universe support Matt in taking some time off to rest and heal,” KLOS said in a statement. “Matt is a family member, and we look forward to having him back on the KLOS airwaves as soon as possible. We know his fans across the country and all the artists feel the same way.”

A statement from KCSN confirmed that Pinfield was on “a temporary leave of absence” with no timeline established for his return.

“We are fully supportive of Matt and hope to have his energetic knowledge of rock n’ roll back on the air soon,” the radio station’s statement read.

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was among those sending support to the ex-VJ via social media, writing on X: “Thinking of Matt Pinfield and his family during this difficult time and sending them love and support. We love you Matt.”

Hard rock legends Living Colour sent “love and healing vibes” in their own X post while alternative rocker Pete Yorn wished Pinfield a “speedy recovery”.

Pinfield was previously hospitalized in 2018 for a broken leg and multiple lacerations when he was struck by a car while crossing the street in Los Angeles. He later said that his life was “completely turned upside down” after his leg was “snapped in half” in the hit-and-run collision.

“It happened too quickly. I didn’t even know my head went through the windshield,” he recalled in an interview with Sweet James Accident Attorneys. “I was laying there on the ground. I didn’t know if I was going to live or die, to be honest with you.”

Pinfield got his start as a radio DJ in New Jersey, before becoming the host of MTV’s groundbreaking alternative music show 120 Minutes from 1995 to 1999. He later hosted a revamped version of the format on MTV2 from 2011 to 2013.

120 Minutes was pivotal in the rise of alternative music in the 1980s and ‘90s, as it provided an early platform for artists as varied as Björk, Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine before they achieved mainstream success.

Pinfield worked extensively for MTV through the 1990s as host of MTV Live and Pinfield Presents as well featuring on Total Request Live’s trivia segment Stump Matt.

Columbia Records hired Pinfield as its vice president of Artists and Repertoire in 2001, where he helped develop the early careers of Coheed and Cambria, Cold and Crossfade.

Pinfield left the record business in 2006 to return to TV as host of VH1’s VSpot Top 20 Countdown and he later created Matt Pinfield Plays Whatever He Wants for Sirius XM Radio. He also played himself on several episodes of Nickelodeon sitcom The Naked Brothers Band.