MSNBC’s Joy Reid claims homophobic blog posts were ‘fabricated’ to ‘taint’ her character
(Spike TV)
Joy Reid has denied writing a series of homophobic posts that were published on her now-defunct blog, The Reid Report.
The MSNBC correspondent is claiming that the recently-discovered entries – which include condemnations of gay marriage and general mockery of LGBTQ people – are “fabricated.”
In a statement to Mediaite, Reid claimed that an “external party accessed and manipulated material from [her] now-defunct blog to include offensive and hateful references.” She went on to say that the views shared within the content do not match her own.
Joy Reid previously came under scrutiny for homophobic blog posts in December 2017 (William B. ‘ Plowman/NBC/NBC NewsWire/ Getty)
Reid continued: “[In December], I began working with a cyber-security expert who first identified the unauthorised activity, and we notified federal law enforcement officials of the breach.
“The manipulated material seems to be part of an effort to taint my character with false information by distorting a blog that ended a decade ago.
“Now that the site has been compromised I can state unequivocally that it does not represent the original entries.
“I hope that whoever corrupted the site recognises the pain they have caused, not just to me, but to my family and communities that I care deeply about: LGBTQ, immigrants, people of colour and other marginalised groups.”
According to numerous news outlets, the supposedly resurfaced articles—dating back over a decade—were originally shared as screenshots on Twitter by user Jason_Maz.
The social media user reportedly found them using the archiving tool Wayback Machine, which preserves cached versions of web pages from the past.
One blog post defended NBA star Tim Hardaway’s previous comments about how he’d feel uncomfortable having gay teammates (Getty)
One particularly controversial post defended NBA star Tim Hardaway and his public comments about not wanting a gay teammate.
“Keeping it real…most straight men feel exactly the same way, and would have the exact same reaction to the idea of stripping naked in a sweaty locker room in close quarters with a gay teammate,” the apparently-doctored The Reid Report post read.
“Most straight people cringe at the sight of two men kissing… Most straight people had a hard time being convinced to watch Brokeback Mountain. (I admit that I couldn’t go see the movie either, despite my sister’s ringing endorsement, because I didn’t want to watch the two male characters having sex.)
‘Does that make me homophobic? Probably.”
This isn’t the first time Reid has come under scrutiny for content on her former blog.
In December, the MSNBC host apologised after previous anti-gay content on her website received widespread attention.
Talking about then-Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Reid repeatedly called him ‘Miss Charlie’ and label him a closeted gay man in posts dating back over a decade.
In a statement to Mediaite, Reid apologised, saying: “At no time have I intentionally sought to demean or harm the LGBT community, which includes people whom I deeply love. My goal, in my ham-handed way, was to call out potential hypocrisy.
“I regret the way I addressed the complex issue of the closet and speculation on a person’s sexual orientation with a mocking tone and sarcasm. It was insensitive, tone deaf and dumb. There is no excusing it — not based on the taste-skewing mores of talk radio or the then-blogosphere, and not based on my intentions.”
