By Katherine Tinsley
6:28pm PST, Mar 4, 2025
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Joy Reid has been emotional about MSNBC pulling the plug on her news show,
The ReidOut. However, one former staffer claimed tension between the anchor and the network existed before her 2025 firing.
Keep reading to see how things soured…
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One ex-production assistant told the New York Post Reid went "on a vile antisemitic rant" during a 2020 call.
According to the unnamed staffer, Joy said the Orthodox Jewish community "only care about themselves" and are "in their own bubble."
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The comments disturbed the PA, who is Jewish.
"They're the reason why COVID is spreading across New York," the source claimed Reid said during their conference call. "They don't care about COVID or spreading it to others."
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Reid has built a platform on advocating for marginalized communities, but the insider was disappointed to hear the journalist speak negatively toward Jewish people.
"I was shocked she called out a group and generalized them," the source said, adding "other people on the call went along with it as if it's a normal thing to say."
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The lack of pushback was jarring for the PA.
"No one called her out [saying] 'Maybe we shouldn't generalize.' Imagine if you said that about any other group of people — even if it were true — saying that any other group didn't care about COVID?" the source asked.
"I remember feeling shocked – shocked by her ignorance and how antisemitic it sounded," the insider continued.
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At the time, the insider felt "intimidated" due to her role, but she later reached out to then-senior producer Lorena Ruiz.
Ruiz allegedly branded the commentary as "100 percent antisemitic."
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The source informed her boss that the MSNBC team has a "collective responsibility" since many Orthodox Jews were "part of the many doctors creating the COVID guidelines and restrictions, and risking their lives every day to treat COVID patients."
Ruiz noted that the source made a "good point," according to messages shared with the platform.
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According to messages the source shared, Ruiz didn't seem surprised by Reid's comments.
"Joy can be very careless with her language," Ruiz wrote, later adding, "Luckily, she is generally better on air than on the calls."
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Reid's alleged tirade didn't align with her professional brand, as she is a vocal advocate against injustice.
"It was a very hypocritical atmosphere. It was completely contradictory," the source said. "It was very targeted racial issues [on the show] but other discrimination went ignored."
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Due to the exchange, the insider contemplated quitting her role at MSNBC.
"I was writing out a text like I don't feel comfortable continuing on the show," she said, adding that her loved ones "talked me out of it."
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The insider regretted not being vocal about her discomfort at the time.
"All these years, I never spoke up about it, except to my closest friends and family," she admitted. "I always felt like it was something heavy on my chest."
"I think maybe I should have spoken out to someone higher up or even to [Reid] herself, that I should have spoken up more," she concluded.
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Despite the source's negative experiences with her, Reid has been emotional about her program ending.
"I've been through every emotion from, you know, anger, rage, disappointment … guilt … that I let my team lose their jobs," Reid shared on the
Win With Black Women podcast on Sunday, February 23.
"I'm not sorry. I am not sorry that I stood up for those things," Reid stressed.
