MSNBC is set to purge most staffers working for $25 million liberal icon Rachel Maddow after she torched new president Rebecca Kutler for canceling Joy Reid’s show.
Maddow called MSNBC’s actions – which also include several other ‘non-white’ anchors losing their shows – ‘a bad mistake’ and ‘indefensible’ on her program, after telling Reid herself on her final broadcast that she was ‘bereft’ over the news.
She had even more unkind words for the network for how Kutler was treating Reid’s staffers.
‘Dozens of producers and staffers, including some who are among the most experienced and most talented and most specialist producers in the building are facing being laid off,’ she said. ‘They’re being invited to reapply for new jobs.’
Now it appears a majority of Maddow’s own staffers are going to get the same exact treatment.
The Guardian reported Tuesday that ‘a majority’ of her and Reid’s staffers are being let go and can choose either severance or applying for new roles, though the network has suggested a ‘one-to-one’ ratio of new positions to staffers losing their current roles.
Maddow’s executive producer, Cory Gnazzo, and some of her senior producers will remain for now.
When reached by DailyMail.com, a spokesperson for MSNBC declined comment.
MSNBC is set to purge most staffers working for $25 million liberal icon Rachel Maddow, who torched new president Rebecca Kutler and the network brass Monday after they canceled Joy Reid’s show
Maddow called Kutler and MSNBC’s actions – which also include several other ‘non-white’ anchors losing their shows – ‘a bad mistake’ and ‘indefensible’ on her program, after telling Reid herself on her final broadcast that she was ‘bereft’ over the news
Much of Maddow’s team has been deemed redundant after it was discovered they worked with both Maddow – who only hosts on Mondays – and Alex Wagner, who had taken the timeslot the rest of the week.
Jen Psaki will be given the slot Tuesday through Friday at the end of Donald Trump’s 100th day in office on April 21.
Maddow had returned to a five-nights-a-week schedule to cover the incoming administration.
The network’s biggest star – who was rumored to have taken a pay cut when signing her new contract at MSNBC – took to the airwaves Monday night, slamming the network for firing Reid and a slew of other ‘non-white’ anchors.
‘I do not want to lose [Reid] as a colleague here at MSNBC, and personally, I think it is a bad mistake to let her walk out the door. It is not my call and I understand that. But that’s what I think,’ Maddow said.
She added: ‘I will tell you. It is also unnerving to see that on a network where we’ve got two – count them – two nonwhite hosts in primetime, both of our nonwhite hosts in primetime are losing their shows, as is Katie Phang on the weekend. And that feels worse than bad, no matter who replaces them. That feels indefensible. And I do not defend it.’
Phang, Jonathan Capehart and Ayman Mohyeldin have also been given the boot from their current timeslots by ruthless new boss Kutler.
Maddow did praise whomever would replace Reid, which is reported to be Alicia Menendez, Symone Sanders Townsend and Michael Steele in the interim.
Joy Reid was in tears on Sunday when talking about her cancelation by the liberal network
‘Everybody who’s going to be in anchor chairs from here on out are great colleagues and great at what they do. And you are not going to be disappointed in who’s on our air and what you’re going to be seeing,’ she said.
‘Everybody who’s going to be in anchor chairs from here on out are great colleagues and great at what they do. And you are not going to be disappointed in who’s on our air and what you’re going to be seeing,’ she said.
Maddow called that unprecedented in the history of the network and added that ‘it’s not the right way to treat people.
‘And it’s inefficient and it’s unnecessary, and it kind of drops the bottom out of whether or not people feel like this is a good place to work.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to MSNBC for comment.
Reid wept as she broke her silence Sunday after being fired from the network on a podcast. She clarified that she was ‘not sorry’ despite the cancellation of The Reid Out as MSNBC looks to restructure its programming.
Trump blasted the network as losers, calling MSNBC head Brian Roberts a ‘Lowlife Chairman’ while branding Reid a ‘mentally obnoxious racist.’
Kutler has been officially named president of MSNBC, after dropping her interim title following Rashida Jones’ departure last month.
Katie Phang, Jonathan Capehart and Ayman Mohyeldin have also been given the boot from their current timeslots, according to the New York Post – who obtained the insight from a source named as an ‘MSNBC insider’
MSNBC announced that Kutler, 45, was officially promoted on Wednesday, February 12.
Mark Lazurus, who is head of the Comcast spinoff company, told staff in a memo earlier this month.
‘In the short time that Rebecca was the interim president, it became clear to me that she has the big-picture strategic view and the right leadership skills to ensure MSNBC delivers on its brand promise and is positioned for growth during a time of industry change,’ Lazarus wrote.
Since taking charge, Kutler has successfully stabilized the network’s ratings following a major post-election decline.
The recovery has been largely attributed to Maddow’s brief return to a five-nights-a-week schedule.
In the memo to staff, Kutler acknowledged the challenges ahead.
‘My goal over the years ahead is to build on that success. Especially over the next year, this is going to be a really exciting time but also a challenging time. I think it’s important that we as leaders are honest about that and about the challenges ahead. Our jobs are hard on a normal day, and these are not normal times.’
Kutler takes over from Rashida Jones, who had led the progressive cable network since 2021.
She joined MSNBC in 2022 after a 12-year stint at CNN, where she climbed from executive producer on shows like Inside Politics with John King to senior vice president.
Kutler was previously at CNN as programming chief for CNN+, the ill-fated streaming service that crashed and burned during AT&T’s handover to Warner Bros. Discovery.
MSNBC’s layoffs are in addition to a brutal media landscape that includes CNN’s January bloodbath and huge cuts at the Washington Post and LA Times.
