MSNBC host Joy Reid came under fire this weekend after anti-gay blog posts she wrote from 2007 to 2009 were recently unearthed. She has since issued a weak apology.
Mediaite reported on Saturday that a dozen blog posts written by Reid in 2007, 2008 and 2009 were recently unearthed in an internet archive. The posts were filled with "homophobic conspiracies and anti-gay jokes." Reid wrote the posts for a blog titled, "The Reid Report," and used them to smear, attack and mock Charlie Crist, who at the time was Florida's governor.
Mediaite reported:
[The posts] included calling Crist “Miss Charlie” and sarcastically using the tags “gay politicians” and “not gay politicians” — despite the fact that the twice-married, heterosexual man has never come-out as gay. Reid went on to spread the crackpot conspiracy theory that Crist was actually a closeted gay man who refused to come out for fear that his sexual orientation would hurt his political career. Additionally, the AM Joy host claims Crist’s marriages to women are part of this elaborate cover up.As bad as the conspiracy theory is in itself, Reid doesn’t just suggest Cris is gay — she assumes he is gay and proceeds to attack him for it. “Miss Charlie, Miss Charlie. Stop pretending, brother. It’s okay that you don’t go for the ladies,” wrote Reid in a 2007 post.
In one post written in 2008, Reid went so far as to "joke" about Crist having sexual relations with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who at the time was running for president.
The discovery was seen as significant because Reid has built a reputation for herself of being very close-minded and attacking anyone who doesn't share the same political views or worldview as her. Though, as Mediaite noted, Reid has a history of hypocritical behavior.
Reid said in a statement to TheWrap that she never "intentionally sought to demean or harm the LGBT community," but the point of the posts was to call out Crist's "potential hypocrisy." She said:
In 2007 I was a morning talk radio host and blogger, writing about Florida politics (a blog I maintained until 2011.) Among the frequent subjects of my posts was then-governor Charlie Crist, at the time a conservative Republican, whose positions on issues like gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples in Florida shared headlines with widely rumored reports that he was hiding his sexual orientation. Those reports were the subject of lots of scrutiny: by LGBTQ bloggers, writers and journalists, conservative blogs, a controversial documentary film called “Outrage,” and even by the comedic writers at South Park.But it was my own attempt at challenging Crist on my blog that has now raised the issue of not just my choice of words, but what was and is in my heart.
She went on to say: "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..."
She even apologized directly to Crist, but added: "My critique of anti-LGBT positions he once held but has since abandoned was legitimate in my view. My means of critiquing were not."
Reid concluded by saying that she is "disappointed" with herself and called the situation humbling.
Crist, now a congressman, posted on Twitter Sunday in reply to Reid's apology:
Long forgotten, but thank you, Joy. I appreciate you.
— Charlie Crist (@CharlieCrist) December 4, 2017
Here is the link to the archive of Joy's blog. Scroll about halfway down to start seeing the articles cited in the thread. https://t.co/8KiWmuv7th
— James M (@Jamie_Maz) November 30, 2017
This story has been updated.
