I’ve always hated the idea of calling for anyone’s firing. It’s not that I think this is good or bad; I’m just saying it’s not my style.
So why do I feel differently about the case of Rachel Maddow, the MSNBC star who implied that her network was racist for parting ways with longtime host Joy Reid, who is Black?
Reid’s show, like many others, was not doing well. According to Nielsen Media Research, in December MSNBC saw a 53% decline in primetime viewership. As part of a total revamp of its lineup, in addition to parting with Reid the network also dropped programs hosted by Alex Wagner, Katie Phang and others.
This didn’t sit well with Maddow. In a prolonged monologue, noting that “both of our non-white hosts in prime time” were let go, Maddow said “that feels worse than bad…that feels indefensible. And I do not defend it.”
Because Maddow has such a prominent voice, especially in liberal circles, her disparagement of her employer has resonated far and wide. If I were running MSNBC, I may be thinking: “She’s taken our business decisions and implying that they’re driven by racist sentiments. Do we really have to take this?”
The answer, of course, is no. Just because an employee is a star doesn’t mean an employer has to swallow being libeled in such a public way.
In recent years, the anti-racist movement has been so powerful that the surest way to cancel anyone was to accuse them of being racist. This has given accusers a kind of immunity: As long as they were the accuser, they could never get in trouble.
Is that what Maddow was thinking—she was safe because she was the accuser? Did she not realize that accusing a person is not the same as accusing a network, especially one that pays you $25 million a year?
A little noticed aspect of the anti-racist movement is that it has discouraged mental exertion. Bringing up race at any point and in any way is such an easy and intoxicating expression of virtue that for many on the left, the temptation has been too great.
Maddow evidently fell for that temptation. I could see a look of smug assurance as she threw her bosses under the bus while adding an over-the-top tribute to Reid. I imagined her walking into a cocktail party on Saturday night and being celebrated like a courageous rebel by her liberal crowd.
Maybe that desire to feel virtuous was so ingrained, she lost sight of some other virtues, like don’t libel your bosses in public and don’t assume every problem is about race.
As the ripples of her takedown continue to spread, I’m wondering what’s going through Maddow’s mind. Did she expect that she would get her bosses fired? Did she not realize she may be forcing their hand, because “racism” is not the kind of elephant any employer wants to leave in the room?
If her bosses do decide to terminate her contract, they may want to include this programming note: Joy Reid’s time slot will be taken by a panel show where all three panelists– Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez – are people of color.
