Joy Reid Reveals Staggering MSNBC Pay Discrepancy, Despite Ratings
The gender pay gap remains alive and well in Hollywood, at least according to Joy Reid, who said she was paid a fraction of what her fellow MSNBC hosts earned despite drawing higher ratings.
Speaking at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival’s C-Suite Soirée on August 7, as reported by People, Reid reflected on her tenure at the cable news network, where she served as a national correspondent for MSNBC following the cancellation of her afternoon show The Reid Report in early 2015. She began hosting The ReidOut in 2020 until it was canceled last February.
“The curse of competency means you’re the best person at what you do,” Reid told the founder of social impact consulting firm Full Circle Strategies Jotaka Eaddy, relaying a conversation she’d had about workplace issues. “You know more than everyone else because you’ve had to do more work and more research to get where you are, and so therefore you’re the one everybody calls.”
“Which means,” she continued, “that because you are the best at it, you actually work the hardest, do the most hours, work the most overtime, and don’t get paid commensurate to the amount of work you do.”
Reid spoke about pay disparities not only throughout her career but also during her time at MSNBC.
“I worked in a business where I was paid a tenth of the salary of people who did literally my same job, the whole time I worked there,” she said of MSNBC. “And we knew that any man that was doing what I was doing was going to make more than me. And that they were going to be able to negotiate higher salaries, even at lower ratings.”
Reid went on to say that her male counterparts tend to have it easier as they “less hours and make more than us, get bigger raises, more opportunities, and more grace. This is the world we live in.”
The ReidOut cancellation occurred as part of a sweeping lineup restructuring under new MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler, who took leadership in early 2025. According to reports, the network aimed to revamp its primetime strategy and expand news-gathering operations. Joy Reid’s 7 p.m. slot was replaced with a new panel show, The Weeknight.
Reid can be found on The Joy Reid Show on YouTube, where she offers her unfiltered opinions on news, pop culture, politics, and events shaping today’s world.
Conversation7 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Comments are closed on this story.
-
C
Big shock, Joy calling people sexist/racist/etc to compensate for her failures with no evidence to back up her claims as usual. Im sure her youtube channel is just racking up subscribers. Maybe its the fault of the same person who supposedly 'hacked' into her server to write all the homophobic comments.
4
-
O
Joy Is A Typical Has Been Racist Who Likes To Stir The Divide Pot To Make Black And white People Hate Each Other, Just Like Her Buddy Al Sharpton !! Joy Has No Basic Talent So She Has To Blame White People For Her Failures !! Joy Should Disapear Just Like The obamas And clintons !!!!!!!!!
3
-
G
I enjoyed her show and always learned a lot from her comments and her guests. Her show was always interesting and had a slightly different perspective from the others. Hope she gets a bigger platform in the future.
-
G
I think Jason needs to fact check himself. Big shock -- you are obviously a subscriber to FOX ENTERTAINMENT/"NEWS" and all their lies and conspiracy theories.
1
-
G
Joy was one of my favorites on TV. She will keep excelling anywhere she goes to and will take most of her audience.
1
-
C
I enjoyed her show & the fact that she cared about the future of the world! She was very enlightening! Thank God for Joy Reid!
3
-
O
The Devil Is Who You Should Be Thanking For Cockroach Joy !!
2
-
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services