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According to The Guardian, MSNBC informed the majority of employees working on Maddow and Reid’s programs that they are being let go as part of the network’s programming overhaul.
Maddow, who commands the highest ratings at MSNBC, will retain her executive producer, Cory Gnazzo, and a few senior producers. However, the rest of her staff, along with those working on shows hosted by Katie Phang, Jonathan Capehart, Ayman Mohyeldin, and José Díaz-Balart, have been given an ultimatum: take a severance package or reapply for new roles.
Maddow did not hold back her outrage, openly blasting MSNBC’s decision to axe Reid’s show.
“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 declared on her show Monday night.
“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.
Despite her frustration, Maddow acknowledged that the decision was out of her hands. “It is not my call, and I understand that, but that’s what I think.”
The network’s decision to cancel shows hosted by minority anchors has sparked backlash from within. Maddow accused MSNBC of racial bias, pointing out that two “non-white” hosts were removed from primetime.
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“At 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 [Asian host] Katie Phang on the weekend,” Maddow said.
“And that feels worse than bad, no matter who replaces them,” she continued. “That feels indefensible, and I do not defend it.”
MSNBC has not publicly addressed the internal backlash, but the moves suggest a broader strategy shift at the struggling network. With declining ratings and an identity crisis brewing, executives appear willing to cut deep—no matter who gets caught in the crossfire.
As MSNBC fights to stay relevant, the question remains: Is this the end of an era for its most recognizable liberal voices?
