Ex-MSNBC host Joy Reid claims she still does not know the specific reasoning for the cancellation of her show, but thinks there were two topics discussed that led to her firing.
The Reidout was axed by the struggling cable network in late February. However, Reid pushed back against the idea that her show was cancelled due to low ratings, citing how all cable news suffered a ratings loss following the 2024 election and her ratings “were fine.” Upon attending a meeting in which she was fired, she asked what the issue was, but she was told nothing other than that the network wanted to make changes.
However, Reid said she learned of things that were “making management uncomfortable,” and pinpointed two topics that will create discomfort for cable news media managers.
“One of them is Trump, because Trump is suing everybody,” Reid said on The Breakfast Club. “I mean, he’s literally threatening people to the point where 60 Minutes is shook, where ABC News is shook. You know, he’s verbally threatened Comcast by name, named Brian Roberts by name, and all of these are businesses that want to do business that need the FCC’s approval. They actually have to have the federal government’s approval to do mergers, acquisitions. He can hurt them, he can pull your license!”
Both CBS News’s 60 Minutes and ABC News have come under scrutiny by President Donald Trump, calling the former network’s show a “dishonest Political Operative simply disguised as ‘News.’” ABC News had to pay a $15 million settlement deal with the president after anchor George Stephanopoulos claimed that Trump had been found liable for rape, when the president had actually been convicted of being liable for sexual abuse in 2023.
Reid suspected that Trump’s discussions about Gaza also led to her ouster. She claimed that despite most in the United States agreeing that there is a “genocide” happening in Gaza, there was a “discomfort” with this topic, which she saw “in the policing of my social media” that included requests not to like certain posts.
Since parting ways with MSNBC, Reid has started her own podcast series on YouTube, The Joy Reid Show, in which she has had “no problem” booking guests on her show. She suspected that the modern means of consuming news is not through news networks, but through people, citing how a TikTok video she made summarizing the news would get “a million views.”
“So I think as a creator, as a content creator, as a news person, you have to feed all of your audiences, because there’s some people who really just consume it through MSNBC and cable, there’s some people who just consume it through TikTok or Instagram,” Reid stated. “I have people who are like ‘I love you on Instagram,’ that’s their only means of getting information from me, and that’s real.”
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During her appearance, Reid reflected on the current state of the Democratic Party, saying she is “barely hanging on ” but does not want to “cede the country to Trumpism.” She added that she wants “an effective fighter,” name-dropping Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) as a possible candidate.
The Washington Examiner has contacted MSNBC for comment.