Joy Reid jokes about MSNBC ‘breakup’ during Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards speech
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Joy Reid, the recently sacked MSNBC host, is reflecting on her “breakup” with the channel as she joked about her recent career development.
Reid, the illustrious former host of 'The ReidOut', recently took the stage at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards in Los Angeles, when she acknowledged her show’s cancellation.
“We are living in a time of theft,” Joy Reid speaks to the state of the country at #essencebwih25 pic.twitter.com/UoOgXeV2LG
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 27, 2025
Joy Reid opens up about her ‘breakup’ with MSNBC
Speaking on the stage of the award show, the 56-year-old broadcaster joked about her situation with the network, saying, “Now, I think you might have heard that I’ve recently been through a breakup—but not with my husband!” as reported by The Daily Beast.
She clarified, “Not with my husband, because today actually is our anniversary.” The New York native has been married to her husband Jason Reid since 1997, with whom she shares three children.
While Reid clarified that her relationship with her husband has not gone through a “breakup,” she stated it was her professional life that had suffered a blow. Apart from axing Reid’s talk show that premiered in 2020, the channel also laid off the production staffers, while giving them the option to apply for new roles.
As part of the program shake-up initiated by the network's new president Rebecca Kutler, Reid's show was canceled after being on-air for more than four years.
Elsewhere during her speech, the Harvard University alum claimed that Black women “are living at a time of theft,” adding that “our history is at risk of being stolen away.”
“Our opportunity to participate in this democracy is being threatened,” she noted and continued, “We are losing the service, potentially, of federal workers who are disproportionately us in the service that we disproportionately give.”
Commenting on the current scenario, Reid noted, “This country is becoming more diverse, whether people like it or not, and so if you want to sell dollies, you’re going to need a Black mermaid, because all the little Black and brown girls want to see themselves in those characters.”
“Equity is important because we come in knowing we have to be better, more educated, stronger, more prepared than anyone else when we walk into a room,” she explained.
Backing the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that are facing challenges from the Trump government, Reid noted, “And so we are. And so in each of the spaces that we exist, we tend to be the best.”
The broadcaster argued, “And that equity is not just equity for us, it’s equity for these companies and organizations that we serve,” as she pointed out, “It makes their organizations better, and inclusion is just reality. There’s nothing you can do to reverse the tide that is making this a more diverse country.”
Joy Reid says she is 'not sorry' after MSNBC axed her show
Joy Reid's lighthearted acknowledgment regarding her show's cancellation came just a few days after she became emotional while admitting that she was "not sorry" for going "hard on so many issues" on the show while appearing on the 'Win With Black Women' podcast on Sunday, February 23.
Breaking her silence about the cancellation, Reid admitted, "I’ve been through every emotion from, you know anger, rage, disappointment….guilt...that I let my team lose their jobs," per New York Post.
Though the broadcaster has previously received backlash for her slew of comments regarding White people, a defiant Reid admitted, "I’m not sorry. I am not sorry that I stood up for those those things."
She added, "But in the end, where I really land… is just gratitude. Just pure gratitude and gratitude. Not just because people would take the time to get on a call like this or to take care of me. But also that my show had value."
