In a surprising and emotional outburst, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow expressed her frustration and disbelief over the network’s decision to fire her colleague, Joy Reid, and cancel Reid’s low-rated primetime program, The ReidOut. The decision, which comes amidst preparations for Comcast’s sale of the network, triggered a passionate response from Maddow during a live broadcast, as she lashed out at both the decision and the impact it had on the network’s culture.
Maddow, 51, began her tirade by reflecting on her own extensive career and how the firing of Reid felt like a personal blow. “She is leaving the network altogether and that is very, very, very hard to take. I am 51 years old. I have been gainfully employed since I was 12 and I have had so many different kinds of jobs, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Maddow said, emphasizing the depth of her emotional connection to her colleague.
Maddow went on to describe Reid as the best colleague she had ever worked with, claiming, somewhat dramatically, “But 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.” She expressed her admiration for Reid’s work and her belief that Reid’s departure was a mistake. “I love everything about her. I have learned so much from her. I have so much more to learn from her. I do not want to lose her as a colleague here at MSNBC,” she continued. “Personally, I think it is a bad mistake to let her walk out the door. It is not my call and I understand that. But that’s what I think.”
Taking the conversation further, Maddow made a pointed remark regarding the race dynamics at play within MSNBC’s recent decisions, bringing attention to the fact that both of the network’s nonwhite hosts in primetime, including Reid and Katie Phang, were losing their shows. “I will tell you. It is also unnerving to see that on a network where we’ve got two – count them – two nonwhite hosts in primetime, both of our nonwhite hosts in primetime are losing their shows, as is Katie Phang on the weekend. And that feels worse than bad, no matter who replaces them. That feels indefensible. And I do not defend it,” she stated, drawing attention to the larger issues of diversity and inclusion.
Maddow attempted to reassure her audience that the changes would not result in a decline in quality. “But there’s just one other piece of it that you should know. From your side of the TV screen, you will mostly see changes in terms of who’s in the anchor chair. Actually, everybody who’s going to be in anchor chairs from here on out are great colleagues and great at what they do,” Maddow added. “And you are not going to be disappointed in who’s on our air and what you’re going to be seeing.”
Despite this reassurance, Maddow expressed concern over the network’s treatment of off-air staff. She lamented the mass layoffs, including the departure of dozens of producers and staffers, many of whom were experienced and well-regarded within the network. “Dozens of producers and staffers, including some who are among the most experienced and most talented and most specialist producers in the building are facing being laid off,” she explained. “They’re being invited to reapply for new jobs. That has never happened at this scale in this way before when it comes to programming changes.”
Maddow made it clear that she felt this was an unnecessary and inefficient approach to the changes being made at the network. “It’s inefficient and it’s unnecessary, and it kind of drops the bottom out of whether or not people feel like this is a good place to work,” she concluded, expressing her dissatisfaction with how the changes were being handled.
The emotional exchange was a stark display of Maddow’s affection for Reid and her frustration with the shifting dynamics at MSNBC, as the network braces for a future under new ownership.
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