Skip to main content

What really matters

In a world with too much noise and too little context, Vox helps you make sense of the news. We don’t flood you with panic-inducing headlines or race to be first. We focus on being useful to you — breaking down the news in ways that inform, not overwhelm.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join today

After these tweets, Melissa Harris-Perry is definitely not coming back to MSNBC

Larry Busacca/Getty Images

MSNBC cut ties this weekend with host Melissa Harris-Perry, one of the very few women of color hosting a national cable news show.

Harris-Perry, who is also a professor at Wake Forest University, had a devoted following. Her fans discussed her show on Twitter with the hashtag #nerdland. They praised the show’s thoughtful take on the news and its unusually diverse lineup of guests. Erik Wemple of the Washington Post called Harris-Perry a “rare voice of substance on cable news.”

Harris-Perry had been fairly quiet after the release of her letter blasting MSNBC brass for repeatedly preempting her show. That appears to be because she was in negotiations with MSNBC — negotiations that ended at 5 pm on Tuesday with Harris-Perry refusing to sign a nondisclosure agreement. That left her “free” and ready to break her silence on Twitter:

In her leaked email, Harris-Perry said the network was marginalizing her show during election season and taking away her “editorial control and authority” — and undermining racial diversity in its efforts to boost ratings.

“Social media has noted the dramatic change in editorial tone and racial composition of MSNBC’s on-air coverage,” Harris-Perry wrote, later followed by: “I am not a token, mammy, or little brown bobble head.”

MSNBC’s brass wasn’t pleased with that email, calling it “destructive to our relationship.” Executives said that MSNBC’s relationship with Harris-Perry was “highly unlikely to continue.”

On Twitter on Tuesday, Harris-Perry took aim at MSNBC executives for calling her a “challenging, unpredictable personality”:

Harris-Perry had clarified that she didn’t think anyone was “doing something mean to me because I’m a black person.” But it’s clear that she thinks MSNBC’s new editorial direction is going to hurt its racial diversity — and that of cable news as a whole:

Then she signed off with a bang:

See More:

More in archives

The Supreme Court will decide if the government can ban transgender health careThe Supreme Court will decide if the government can ban transgender health care
Supreme Court

Given the Court’s Republican supermajority, this case is unlikely to end well for trans people.

By Ian Millhiser
On the MoneyOn the Money
archives

Learn about saving, spending, investing, and more in a monthly personal finance advice column written by Nicole Dieker.

By Vox Staff
Total solar eclipse passes over USTotal solar eclipse passes over US
archives
By Vox Staff
The 2024 Iowa caucusesThe 2024 Iowa caucuses
archives

The latest news, analysis, and explainers coming out of the GOP Iowa caucuses.

By Vox Staff
The Big SqueezeThe Big Squeeze
archives

The economy’s stacked against us.

By Vox Staff
Abortion medication in America: News and updatesAbortion medication in America: News and updates
archives

A Texas judge issued a national ruling against medication abortion. Here’s what you need to know.

By Vox Staff