As reported by the New York Times on February 23, MSNBC canceled Joy Reid’s evening news show, with a new program set to take its place. While Reid has not issued an official statement addressing the matter, she expressed her emotions during a recent Zoom call.
Following the announcement, an emergency Zoom call was organized by Win With Black Women and Win With Black Men on February 23. About 10,000 people joined the call to show their support for Joy Reid. The conversation was led by activists Jotaka Eaddy and Khalil Thompson.
Several prominent individuals, including Angela Rye, Don Lemon, and Jacque Reid, were also present. A tearful Reid stated that she wasn’t sorry for going “hard” on “so many issues.” She further added statements like “my show had value” and “what I was doing had value” during the discussion on Monday.
Meanwhile, social media users took to the internet to react to the emergency Zoom call addressing Reid’s exit from the channel. One user (@Genx_Sam) wrote:
“I know she once mocked “white tears.” I’m not a racist like she is, so I wouldn’t mock “black tears.” But I sure as hell will mock Joy Reid tears.”
Another netizen wrote
“In general, I abhor taking joy from someone else’s pain. Occasionally there is an exception to my rule.”
“If she’s so confident in her value, she should start a subscription based video series,” added a tweet.
While many seemed satisfied with MSNBC’s decision to shut down Reid’s show, others expressed a different perspective.
“MSNBC will be sorry they’ve done this to Joy,” an X user tweeted.
“That SUCKS!! Is MSNBC bowing to Trump?” wrote another one.
“Not a good decision. Not good at all.🤬,” mentioned a user.
Joy Reid paid homage to Melissa Harris-Perry on the Zoom call
Joy Reid touched on several topics during her emotional Zoom conversation on Sunday after news about her show’s cancellation went viral. Among them was paying homage to Melissa Harris-Perry, whom she credited with paving the way for her at MSNBC.
According to a report by Black Enterprise published on February 24, the Zoom call conversation also included topics surrounding ways to uplift Black women in the field of journalism. Hashtags like #WeNeedJoy and #TVOff gained traction as a way to object to MSNBC’s decision.
Apart from the organizations, several MSNBC hosts criticized the channel’s decision and extended support to Reid. Rachel Maddow, speaking on her show, stated:
“In all of the jobs I have had in all of the years I have been alive, there is no colleague for whom I have had more affection and more respect than Joy Reid. I love everything about her.”
Maddow further claimed that she believed that it was a “bad mistake” to let Reid leave the news channel. She further hinted at racism in the channel while making a statement that she felt it was “unnerving” that both the “non-white hosts in primetime are losing their shows, as is Katie Phang on the weekend.”
For the unversed, MSNBC decided to cancel Katie Phang’s show, which first aired in 2022. However, Phang will remain with the network in a different role. As for Reid, the final episode of The ReidOut aired on Monday, February 24, 2025.
Edited by Shubham Soni
