MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry has been nixed from the network after
waging a public war with her bosses over editorial control.
“Farewell #Nerdland,” Harris-Perry tweeted to her 430,000 followers Sunday, using a nickname for her eponymous show.
“Inviting diverse new voices to table was a privilege. Grateful for years of support & criticism.”
MSNBC said Harris-Perry was “parting ways” with the network, but offered no more details about her ouster.
Her exit comes two days after Harris-Perry announced she was boycotting her own program, as protest against the network’s treatment of her show.
Harris-Perry, who is of mixed race, had said her white bosses were
sidelining her show — and its focus on tough racial issues — while
keeping her around for diversity’s sake.
“I will not be used as a tool for their purposes,” Harris-Perry wrote
in a Friday email to her staff, which she asked a former staffer to
publish.
“I am not a token, mammy, or little brown bobble head... I love our show. I want it back.”
Farewell #Nerdland. Inviting diverse new voices to table was a privilege. Grateful for years of support & criticism. pic.twitter.com/DJ7MMvVreN— Melissa Harris-Perry (@MHarrisPerry) February 28, 2016
She said the network considered her "worthless" and kept her away from
political coverage in favor of "relative novices and certified liars."
The dispute reportedly peaked over the network's attempted nixing of Harris-Perry's plan to discuss the politically charged Beyoncé single "Formation." The host went along with her segment, but MSNBC cut into it with election coverage.
After Harris-Perry sent her staff email, the channel called her reaction “surprising, confusing and disappointing.”
Harris-Perry, 42, has hosted her show since 2012. She did not return requests for comment.
New York City Public Advocate Letitia James wrote a letter to NBC brass calling for the station to bring back Harris-Perry.
James wrote that Harris-Perry's show was "go-to source to discuss the
foremost policy issues in our country that are often neglected by
mainstream media."
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