Carlos Watson of MSNBC once introduced O'Malley as "one of the real-life inspirations for the mayor of the hit TV show The Wire", to which O'Malley responded that he was instead the show's "antidote".
Carlos Watson, a commentator on MSNBC, stated that O'Malley was an inspiration for the character of the mayor in the TV show "The Wire", while O'Malley responded by saying that he was not the source of inspiration but rather the opposite of the fictional mayor in the show.