MSNBC host Joy Reid continues to have trouble with words. The most recent issue is the emergence of a blog she wrote before becoming famous; was this blog really hers – or has she been hacked (again) as she claims?
Media outlet Buzzfeed was first to break the news that Reid’s former blog (which had already been problematic for the television host) contained posts supporting conspiracy theories, including “truther” 9/11 videos. The most infamous of these, Loose Change 9/11, blames the terrorist attack on the United States government; this post appears as early as 2006.
“The fundamental question is: do you believe the official story of 9/11?” the post read. “If you do, great. If you don’t, then everything that happened after that is called into serious question.”
“Even if you’re agnostic,or you tend to believe that al-Qaida attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon and that the government had no warning such a thing could happen, it’s worth taking a second look,” the blog continued.
Both MSNBC and Reid declined to respond to Buzzfeed.
Patterns of Abusive Posts
Another post from Reid’s past is from 2005, and targets illegal immigrants; Reid shared her thoughts on the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, musing on the question of which group should do the work — “low-paid Mexican workers, legal and illegal, or the American citizens evacuated from there?”
Another old post, also shared by Buzzfeed, showcased a picture of John McCain – or his head, photoshopoed onto the body of Virginia Tech killer Seung Hui Cho. McCain’s daughter Megan McCain called the image disgusting and disgraceful and called Reid out on Twitter. Reid later claimed to have reached out and apologized to McCain, saying she was now a “different person”. The two had been colleagues and shared the screen together.
“There are things I deeply regret and am embarrassed by, things I would have said differently and issues where my position has changed,” Ms. Reid said. “Today I’m sincerely apologizing again.”
Hackers, Again
For the third time, Reid claims to have been hacked. The first time was when homophobic content surfaced from her early writings. MSNBC spoke out in support of the host, despite heavy criticism; Reid claimed she had been hacked by “political opponents”. As more unfortunate and outright anti-LBGTQ posts continue to surface and are from various time periods, the “I was hacked” excuse is wearing thin.
More homophobic and offensive comments surfaced in April; Reid claimed once again to have been hacked, “breached” and that these were actually “fraudulent entries”. Some of the content discovered included in these posts:
“Most straight people cringe at the sight of two men kissing…a lot of heterosexuals, especially men, find the idea of homosexual sex to be … well … gross.”
The latest round of apologies comes after yet more homophobic and offensive remarks surfaced. The earliest posts were not from Reid’s blog at all, but from Twitter. After Roseanne Barr was fired for racist rants and ramblings, a Twitter user dug through Joy Reid’s feed and discovered similarly hateful remarks. Reid acknowledged the find, saying she was “disappointed in myself” and that her writings were “tone deaf and dumb”. MSNBC again came out in support of their colleague, stating the posts were not reflective of who she is as a person and pointing out that she has since apologized:
“Joy has apologized publicly and privately and said she has grown and evolved in the many years since, and we know this to be true,” the network said in a recent statement.
Reid eventually apologized for the homophobic content, but claimed not to remember or believe writing the posts, even though there was no evidence of hacking. The beleaguered host still has a place with MSNBC, but the network has not come out in support of Reid as it did in the earlier “hacking” incidents.
~ Patriotic Freedom Fighter
