"Both of our non-white hosts in primetime are losing their shows" — Rachel Maddow on MSNBC axing Joy Reid and Katie Phang's shows

On February 24, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow openly criticized the network on The Rachel Maddow Show for canceling anchor Joy Reid's show, The ReidOut. Maddow also revealed that Reid would be leaving the network. Calling the decision "a bad mistake," she said:

"Joy Reid’s show, The ReidOut, ended tonight. And Joy is not taking a different job in the network. She is leaving the network altogether, and that is very, very, very hard to take... I do not want to lose her as a colleague here at MSNBC, and personally, I think it is a bad mistake to let her walk out the door."

According to Variety, MSNBC's new president, Rebecca Kutler, a former CNN senior executive, was appointed on February 12. Since then, Katie Phang and Joy Reid have lost their shows, while anchor Alex Wagner has been demoted to a contributor.

Rachel Maddow also pointed out that Reid, who is Congolese and Guyanese, and Phang, who is South Korean, were the only two non-white primetime hosts on the network, and both lost their shows. She said:

"It is also unnerving to see on a network where we’ve got two, count ‘em, two non-white hosts in primetime, both of our non-white 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."

X user @EricLDaugh shared a clip of Rachel Maddow criticizing the network on the social media app.

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Rachel Maddow's statement comes hours after Donald Trump verbally attacked MSNBC along with its hosts

French President Emmanuel Macron Visits The White House (Image via Getty)

According to Variety, on February 24, just hours before The Rachel Maddow Show aired, President Donald Trump criticized Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of NBCUniversal's parent company Comcast.

He called Roberts a "lowlife" and remarked the network should have fired Joy Reid, whom he called a "mentally obnoxious racist" long ago. Trump wrote:

"Lowlife Chairman of “Concast,” Brian Roberts, the owner of Ratings Challenged NBC and MSDNC, has finally gotten the nerve up to fire one of the least talented people in television, the mentally obnoxious racist, Joy Reid. Based on her ratings, which were virtually non-existent, she should have been “canned” long ago, along with everyone else who works there."

Former anchor Joy Reid has been a vocal critic of Trump on her show, The Reidout. According to a Fox News report dated November 28, 2024, after Trump won the election, Reid bashed his supporters, stating that they must suffer the consequences of voting for him. She said:

"You right-wingers shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of your votes? ‘You don’t want to be around me because I voted for fascism. No fair. I am coughing on you with COVID, but you want me to wear a mask for your safety? No fair. My body, my choice’."

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As reported by the New York Post, Joy Reid's show The ReidOut will be replaced by hosts Michael Steele, Symone Sanders-Townsend, and Alicia Menendez's show from April onwards.