Joy Reid Under Fire For Posts, But Says New Ones Aren't Real

Joy Reid, host of MSNBC’s “AM Joy,” claims her old blog was hacked after a Twitter user uncovered anti-gay comments on her blog.

Reid issued an apology last year for writing anti-gay slurs on her old blog. But she claims new offending comments that were recently uncovered were “fabricated”.

As reported by Splinter News, about a decade ago, when she was still a morning talk show host in South Florida, Reid edited a politics blog called The Reid Report. She used that blog to write a series of posts attempting to out then-Florida Governor Charlie Crist as gay, repeatedly referring to him as “Miss Charlie.”

She also suggested that if Crist made his way onto John McCain’s 2008 ticket, he would be too preoccupied doing things like picking out “flamingo-shaped napkins” to get anything done in the White House.

A Twitter user laid all these findings out in a November 2017 Twitter thread, with evidence pulled from the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

Reid href=”https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/msnbc-s-joy-reid-apologizes-insensitive-lgbt-blog-posts-n826091″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>apologized for the posts, which, at the time, she called “insensitive, tone-deaf and dumb.” She also pointed to her friends in the LGBTQ community as evidence she’s not homophobic.

But on Monday, the same Twitter user unearthed even more offensive content from Reid’s old blog using Wayback. Mediaite published an extensive story about the deeply offensive posts, here’s a partial list:

Reid defending the former NBA star Tim Hardaway saying that he hates “gay people,” by saying “most straight people cringe at the sight of two men kissing…Does that make me homophobic? Probably.”
In the same post, she went on to write that it’s “intrinsic” for heterosexual people to believe that “homosexual sex…is…well…gross.”
A 2006 post counting down the “totally not gay celebrities of the year,” a list that included Clay Aiken, Tom Cruise, and Anderson Cooper at No. 1.
Idly floating an “interesting question” about whether you could “manipulate the genes of your unborn child” to make sure they’re not gay.
Promoting the insidious and deeply old stereotype that gay men are just predators and pedophiles seeking out “impressionable teens.”
An obsession with the movie Brokeback Mountain (its premise of a love story between two men was “too out there” for her, and she said again that she just didn’t want to watch a sex scene between men).

You can see all the posts HERE.

When Mediaite reached out to Reid about her old blog, she insisted the posts, published under her name, were the work of “unknown, external” hackers.

Reid claims hackers worked their way into the Wayback Machine to edit her archived posts to add more anti-LGBTQ content to smear her.

The Internet Archive said Tuesday it could find no evidence to back up her hacking claim.

But on Tuesday night, a spokeswoman for MSNBC shared several documents with CNNMoney, including a statement from an independent security consultant who said he has “significant evidence” that some of the recently circulated posts are bogus.

Meanwhile, a leading LGBT advocacy group rescinded its Straight for Equality in Media Award to Reid on Tuesday amid the controversy surrounding these newly unearthed homophobic comments made on a decade-old blog.

“When we extended our invitation to Ms. Reid to honor her at our 45th anniversary celebration, we did so knowing about the blog posts from the late 2000s regarding Charlie Crist,” PFLAG president Jean Hodges said in a statement. “We appreciated how she stepped up, took ownership, apologized for them, and did better—this is the behavior and approach we ask of any ally. However, in light of new information, and the ongoing investigation of that information, we must at this time rescind our award to Ms. Reid.”

Several prominent folks have tweeted in support of Reid and believe there is a politically motivated agenda behind the rehash of this information:

MSNBC says Joy Reid will stay on air despite possible homophobic blog posts https://t.co/g26FtjL9Y8 pic.twitter.com/1PWdOPFr3t

— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) April 25, 2018

1) So: Many people know I am close friends with @JoyAnnReid. Few of you know I was the first person to publish her, roughly 18 years ago. We didn’t meet for at least a dozen years.

— Joan Walsh (@joanwalsh) April 25, 2018

@JoyAnnReid is one of the best journalists in the game and one of the best broadcasters in TV and one of the best people I know. #ImWithJoy

— Touré (@Toure) April 25, 2018

In the hour since I posted about Joy Reid, I have run around twitter watching Trump supporters team up with Bernie supporters in order to take down one black woman.

This appears to be racism, sexism, as well as a ploy to silence a voice that’s critical of both Bernie and Trump.

— Hillary’s Black White Male Oppressor (@BravenakBlog) April 25, 2018

Joy Reid’s present day words and actions show her to be an honest, open-minded journalist who speaks truth to power.

That’s why the trolls are in high gear…to silence a powerful woman because she stands up and speaks out.

Don’t let them divide us.

#ImWithJoy pic.twitter.com/XdLk8X5mY4

— Great Scott! 🇺🇸 (@ScottFrazier19) April 25, 2018

Read more supportive tweets on the next page.

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