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Former MSNBC anchor Joy Reid reportedly went "on a vile antisemitic rant" in which she blamed Orthodox Jews for the spread of COVID-19 in New York City during the pandemic, a former production assistant confirmed to the New York Post on Saturday (March 1).
Reid, whose TheReidOut show was recently canceled, claimed that Orthodox Jews "only cared about themselves" and were "in their own bubble" in relation to alleged reckless behavior during the summer of 2020. The former PA, who spoke on the condition of anonymity but said she herself is Jewish, claimed she wanted to come forward because she believed "people should know what [Reid's] character is."
“They’re the reason why COVID is spreading across New York,” the former staffer claimed Reid said during a morning conference call and was unchallenged by the estimated 20 people on the call. “They don’t care about COVID or spreading it to others.”
“I was shocked she called out a group and generalized them,” the former PA added, claiming it was even more shocking that “other people on the call went along with it as if it’s a normal thing to say.”
“No one called her out [saying] ‘Maybe we shouldn’t generalize.’ Imagine if you said that about any other group of people – even if it were true – saying that any other group didn’t care about COVID? I remember feeling shocked – shocked by her ignorance and how antisemitic it sounded," the former PA said.
The source claimed she felt too "intimidated" to speak up during the meeting, instead sending a Slack message to her boss, then-senior producer Lorena Ruiz, later that day expressing her deep concern over the "100 percent antisemitic" comments and asking her boss to consider "collective responsibility" since many Orthodox Jews were "part of the many doctors creating the COVID guidelines and restrictions, and risking their lives every day to treat COVID patients."
Ruiz reportedly replied "good point" and claimed "Joy can be very careless with her language," before adding, “Luckily, she is generally better on air than on the calls."
Reid's show TheReidOut debuted that same summer after she had previously hosted the weekend political show AM Joy from 2016 to 2020.