Rachel Maddow reacts to changes at MSNBC, calls Joy Reid exit a ‘mistake’

Cable news networks continued their game of musical chairs this week.

Joy Reid, a longtime MSNBC anchor, announced Monday that she would be leaving the network. Her show “The Reid Out,” was cancelled as part of a larger shakeup.

The move, announced by MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler, was seemingly met with some resistance among the network’s top ranks.

Rachel Maddow, one of MSNBC’s biggest stars, reacted with dismay during her Monday night broadcast.

“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,” Maddow told audiences. “I love everything about her.

“I have so much more to learn from her. 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,” she continued. “It is not my call and I understand that, but that’s what I think.”

Maddow also took aim at what she perceived as a potential for racial bias, calling it “unnerving” that the network was removing both of their nonwhite primetime hosts − Alex Wagner, who anchors another nightly spot, also saw her show canceled this week. But unlike Reid, Wagner will remain with the network as a senior political analyst.

“That feels worse than bad, no matter who replaces them,” she said. “That feels indefensible. And I do not defend it.”

Maddow also took a moment to spotlight the people behind the show − production crew and writers who she says are being asked to reapply for jobs and facing potential layoffs. Calling it “not the right way to treat people,” and “inefficient,” the author and host expressed disappointment at the network for making a difficult time in the news business even more difficult.

USA TODAY has reached out to MSNBC and Maddow for comment.

Maddow, whose eponymous show remains highly rated despite the network’s declining viewership, has a seemingly unique position of power at a time when many veteran hosts are on the chopping block. At MSNBC’s sister network NBC, Lester Holt announced plans Monday to step down from “NBC Nightly News” by early summer.

At CNN, Alisyn Camerota, Chris Wallace and Jim Acosta have exited since the 2024 presidential election.

In the coming weeks, Reid’s 7 p.m. EST hour will be anchored by Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez, who currently host “The Weekend” on Saturdays and Sundays. Sanders-Townsend has served as an adviser and spokesperson for former Vice President Kamala Harris, while Steele is a former chair of the Republican National Committee. Menendez, a former HuffPost Live host and producer and the daughter of Senator Bob Menendez, will be the first Latina to host a primetime MSNBC show.

In a staff memo, Kutler thanked Reid for “her countless contributions over the years.” On Bluesky, Reid thanked “everyone who has reached out with kindness and encouragement” and said she is “so very proud” of her team at “The ReidOut.”

Megyn Kelly celebrates Joy Reid cancellation, Don Lemon hits back

On the political right, some reacted with excitement.

“Remember when Joy Reid laughingly mocked ‘white women tears’ as pathetic and offensive to her? Who’s crying now, Joy?” former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly wrote on X. “Good riddance to the absolute worst person on television, and shame on NBC for letting it go on this long.”

Don Lemon, who has moved his show to YouTube after being ousted from CNN, shot back.

“The worst person? No, Megyn Kelly! The worst person on television was fired from NBC and the ‘Today’ show a few years ago, and that’s Megyn Kelly,” he said in a Monday episode. “That’s the worst person who’s not on television anymore – it’s you.”

Kelly hosted “Megyn Kelly Today” on the third hour of the “Today” show from 2017 to 2018, which NBC canceled following her comments on the appropriateness of blackface.

Contributing: Jay Stahl, Brendan Morrow and Taijuan Moorman

This story has been updated to add additional information.