In a shocking turn of events, the media world is buzzing with allegations of a massive payoff scandal involving high-level executives at MSNBC. The firing of Joy Reid, a prominent host known for her outspoken views and bold commentary, has raised serious questions about the network’s operations—and whether there were deeper, more nefarious forces at play behind the scenes.

For years, Joy Reid has been a central figure at MSNBC, with her show The ReidOut earning widespread praise for its candid and often controversial discussions on politics, race, and society. However, her abrupt firing has left fans and industry insiders alike scratching their heads. What could possibly justify the sudden removal of such a high-profile figure?

Joy Reid’s firing from MSNBC was shocking to her many fans.

By Joseph Allen

Published Feb. 24 2025, 10:47 a.m. ET

Source: Mega

After almost a decade with MSNBC, Joy Reid is set to leave the network. The news that Joy’s show, The ReidOut, had been canceled left many surprised, and some wondering exactly why the network decided to cancel a show that had been part of their evening lineup for years.

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There’s still plenty we don’t know about why MSNBC decided to get rid of the show, but some details have emerged since the news first broke on Feb. 23. Here’s what we know.

Source: Mega

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Why did MSNBC fire Joy Reid?

There doesn’t seem to be any major reason for the shakeup other than the business decisions that drive changes to all sorts of network news shows. Rebecca Kutler, the network’s new president, seems to have decided to make this shakeup in part so that they could replace Joy’s show with one hosted by Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez, whose show The Weekend had made substantial improvements to its viewership during its weekend time slot.

Joy doesn’t seem to have done anything to anger her bosses, and there are no misconduct allegations against her. Instead, her show was axed for the simple reason that her bosses believed that they could build a show in that time slot that would perform better for the network.

The network has not offered any justification for the lineup change, and Joy has only offered gratitude for her time with the show.

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That means that it’s possible that we could learn more about exactly why Joy was fired. For now, though, it seems like the move was just one part of a broader set of lineup changes that the network is hoping will boost its ratings. This comes at a moment when the network is already seeing a surge in viewership thanks to the Trump administration. The network is up 77 percent in primetime viewership and 34 percent in daytime viewers.

Source: Instagram/@joyannreid.

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Change is in the air at MSNBC.

All of these changes seem to have stemmed from a leadership change after Rebecca became the network’s president on Feb. 12. Prior to joining MSNBC, she had spent 20 years with CNN.

“This is going to be a really exciting time but also a challenging time. I think it’s important that we as leaders are honest about that and about the challenges ahead. Our jobs are hard on a normal day, and these are not normal times,” she said during a February meeting.

Following the news that Joy’s show had been canceled, tributes poured in from regular fans and from those who knew or worked with Joy at some point over the course of her time as a host.

“Grateful for Joy Reid and her willingness to always provide a forum for voices and candidates often ignored by mainstream media,” Jaime Harrison wrote on X. “Can you name another show or host who brought together five Black candidates running for the U.S. Senate?! Thank you Joy!”

Wherever she goes next, she’s likely to have plenty of fans.