MSNBC’s somehow bulletproof Joy Reid physically threatened a senior colleague in what he described as “the most toxic work environment I’ve ever experienced.”
Reid has come under fire in recent weeks for making homophobic, anti-Semitic blog posts, lying about doing so, claiming she involved the FBI, and more recently promoting a nazi website – all of which MSNBC is apparently OK with.
Reid issued an apology for her old posts, which included a photoshopped image of Sen. John McCain’s head over the Virginia Tech gunman.
And now we have fresh reports of bigoted and threatening behavior from Reid’s “short-lived stint as a radio show co-host more than a decade ago,” reports Fox News.
Reid faces fresh questions over her conduct during her brief but “toxic” time as a co-host and producer of “Wake Up South Florida” on radio station WTPS 1080 AM between 2006 and 2007.
Threat of physical violence
Andre Eggelletion, former lead host of the morning show with Reid, recently spoke out about her for the first time in more than a decade, saying Reid created “the most toxic work environment I’ve ever experienced” and threatened him with violence.
“It was a very unhealthy work environment because of her attitude. She attacked me on a constant basis while I was there. I was even once threatened with physical violence during a break with her,” he revealed to Fox News. -Fox News
The incident was corroborated by then-national program director for Syndication One, Lee Michaels, who told Fox “It absolutely happened — 100 percent,” and that he had to implore Eggelletion not to quit over Reid’s conduct.
The threat came following a “dispute” over a news item that Reid opposed covering — despite Eggelletion being the show’s lead host.
“There was a dispute over it and I told her, ‘Go ahead and call the manager’,” Eggelletion said he told Reid, after she refused to cover the story suggested by him.
To which she allegedly replied, “If you ever speak to me like that again I’m coming over there and it’s gonna be me and you.” -Fox News
Higher ups at the station intervened, issuing a stern warning to Reid.
“I talked to the general manager and I told him this has to be dealt with in a very firm manner because it was inappropriate and it just can’t be tolerated,” Michaels recalled. He claimed that within the local radio station, there was an attempt to mediate the issue and Reid was supported by some of her colleagues.
Reid hit back, reportedly telling the general manager during a meeting “Y’all want me to be his friend. I don’t want to be his motherfucking friend.”
‘Miss Charlie’ slur
Despite Reid’s “totally heartfelt” apology for homophobic slurs she made on her old blog – saying she’s a changed woman, her former radio coworkers aren’t so sure.
“I do believe she’s not telling the truth about who that person [who wrote the blog posts] was. Maybe she has changed, but back then, that was one evil woman,” Eggelletion said.
“She said she doesn’t know who that person is – I find it very hard to believe. Very hard to believe based on my experience with her. Based on her attitudes towards me to this day. I never ever did anything at all to disrespect her, hurt her, I’ve never written or gone public in the last ten years with anything negative about her,” he added.
The former lead host recalled one example in which Reid’s opinion on the radio show echoed her writings. “She did call Charlie Crist ‘Miss Charlie’ on the air,” he said.
Michaels, meanwhile, said Reid “referred to her blog from time to time” during the radio show. “Her demeanor inside the radio station complemented what was on the blog. Mean-spirited, very edgy, negative personality in her writing,” he said. -Fox News
One wonders at what point MSNBC throws in the towel on Reid, who has been given a giant pass on making bigoted, homophobic comments after simply saying “I’ve changed.”
Roseanne Barr unavailable for comment…
via RSS https://ift.tt/2sLabNa Tyler Durden