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MSNBC has reportedly informed the majority of staffers working on The Rachel Maddow Show that they will be let go as part of the network's major overhaul that led to the cancelation of Joy Reid's program earlier this week, the Guardian reports.
The staffers were reportedly given the option to reapply for news roles at the network or accept a severance payout. Maddow, 54, the network's most prominent anchor, will reportedly retain her executive producer, Cory Gnazzo and several senior producers, however, the rest of her team will be prone to the overhaul, according to the Guardian.
Maddow bashed MSNBC during her live broadcast Monday (February 24) night, referring to Reid's cancelation as a "bad mistake" and defended behind-the-scenes staff across the network who are now facing the risk of losing their jobs.
“I love everything about her. I have learned so much from her. I have so much more to learn from her,” Maddow said of Reid during her live broadcast. “I do not want to lose her 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.”
Reid's show, The ReidOut, aired its final program Monday night during the lead up to Maddow's monologue. The network also replaced Alex Wagner, who was supposed to handle Maddow's weekday slot on Tuesdays through Fridays after the veteran anchor was limited to only Mondays, with former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and took away weekend hosting duties from Katie Phang.
“It is also unnerving to see on a network where we’ve got two, count ‘em, two non-white hosts in primetime, both of our non-white hosts in primetime are losing their shows, as is Katie Phang on the weekend,” Maddow said. “And that feels worse than bad no matter who replaces them, that feels indefensible and I do not defend it.”
Wagner, who is part Burmese and Phang, who is South Korean, are both expected to stay at MSNBC in different roles.