EXCLUSIVE: Joy Reid Claims Newly Discovered Homophobic Posts From Her Blog Were ‘Fabricated’
Mediaite has obtained a series of homophobic posts from Joy Ann Reid’s old blog that she denies were actually written by her.
In an exclusive statement to Mediaite, the MSNBC host claims these posts from The Reid Report — which include defending homophobia, gay jokes, and the outright mocking of gay people and homosexuality — were somehow put in by an “external party” that “manipulated material from my now-defunct blog.”
While Reid apologized in December for writing homophobic content on a blog she ran long before her days as an icon of the #Resistance movement, she claims these new posts opposing gay marriage and cringing “at the sight of two men kissing” were part of a “fabricated” outside effort to paint her as “offensive and hateful.”
These anti-gay articles from The Reid Report, a site that pre-dated Reid’s former MSNBC show of the same name, were originally shared on Twitter by user Jamie_Maz who found them using the Wayback Machine — an Internet archiving service that takes periodic screenshots of popular web pages to preserve them.
While the amateur sleuth provided Mediaite with legitimate links to all of the posts they tweeted screenshots of, neither the actual defunct site nor its archived pages are currently accessible, as their Wayback Machine links mysteriously disappeared in December after Mediaite‘s initial story on Reid’s homophobic comments about Florida Congressman Charlie Crist was published. The Wayback Machine did not respond to an inquiry regarding the removal of Reid’s blog.
Reid’s statement to Mediaite claims that these allegedly hacked posts do “not represent the original entries” on her site:
“In December I learned that an unknown, external party accessed and manipulated material from my now-defunct blog, The Reid Report, to include offensive and hateful references that are fabricated and run counter to my personal beliefs and ideology.
I began working with a cyber-security expert who first identified the unauthorized activity, and we notified federal law enforcement officials of the breach. The manipulated material seems to be part of an effort to taint my character with false information by distorting a blog that ended a decade ago.
Now that the site has been compromised I can state unequivocally that it does not represent the original entries. I hope that whoever corrupted the site recognizes the pain they have caused, not just to me, but to my family and communities that I care deeply about: LGBTQ, immigrants, people of color and other marginalized groups.”
It is worth noting, however, that Reid does admit these posts came from her blog — rather than alleging they are doctored images posted to Twitter — with the caveat that they were added by nefarious hackers after she had the site shut down. It’s unclear when the nefarious hackers would have hacked her site and added the controversial content, since it has been defunct for years and still is. More importantly, NBC could or would not specify exactly which posts Reid is claiming were doctored.
In one of these newly found Reid Report articles, the author defends former NBA star Tim Hardaway’s aggressively anti-gay comments by saying “most straight people cringe at the sight of two men kissing”:
“Keeping it real … most straight men feel exactly the same way, and would have the exact same reaction to the idea of stripping naked in a sweaty locker room in close quarters with a gay teammate. Most straight people cringe at the sight of two men kissing… Most straight people had a hard time being convinced to watch ‘Broke Back Mountain.’ (I admit that I couldn’t go see the movie either, despite my sister’s ringing endorsement, because I didn’t want to watch the two male characters having sex.) Does that make me homophobic? Probably.”
The author continued by saying a part of “straightness” is viewing “homosexual sex” as “gross,” but added that “the nature of political correctness” means straight people can’t say that publicly like Hardaway did.
In a similar post, the author defended Marine General Peter Pace after he condemned “homosexual acts” as “immoral” by suggesting his views are actually normal.
“Some people use the [word] ‘immoral’ when they really mean ‘distasteful’ — I think a lot of heterosexuals, especially men, find the idea of homosexual sex to be … well … gross, and they lump it in with immorality,” wrote the author in a post dated to 2007. “And then there are the concerns that adult gay men tend to be attracted to very young, post-pubescent types, bringing them ‘into the lifestyle’ in a way that many people consider to be immoral.”
The author continued by using the same argument that conservatives deploy against transgender activists today: “Ditto with gay rights groups that seek to organize very young, impressionable teens who may have an inclination that they are gay.”
The author also casually wrote about the idea of manipulating genes to ensure that children would “not be gay.” The procedure was not explicitly condoned, but was instead presented as an “interesting moral question.”
A 2006 Reid Report post included a compilation of the top five “totally not gay celebrities of the year,” which was a satirical attempt — albeit, a lazy one — at suggesting everyone on the list was secretly gay. Singer Clay Aiken and CNN pundit Anderson Cooper both made the list, which — if the publishing date is correct — was posted years before they had come-out publicly.
In another post dated to 2005, the author said Cooper is the “gayest thing on TV” and noted that they have it “on good authority that Cooper is totally gay.” He didn’t come out publicly until 2012.
Other mentions on the list included the stars of Brokeback Mountain, the previously noted film that the author didn’t see because “two male characters having sex” was “too out there.”
The author also repeatedly advocated against gay marriage on the site by criticizing liberals deemed too far left on the issue. Cable news host Rachel Maddow, who is openly gay and now works with Reid at MSNBC, was a recurring target in these Reid Report posts.
“[Rick] Warren’s views on gays are out of the mainstream. Perhaps Rachel Maddow… and those at the left-most end of political spectrum wish it were so, but it is not,” the author wrote in a post arguing against Democrats who were pushing for gay marriage to be part of the party’s platform.
The author cited, in different post, a “terrific” article from Bob Ostertag — described as a “pretty out there gay man” — in which he said, “How is that queers became the odd ones out at such a momentous turning point in history? By pushing an agenda of stupid issues like gay marriage.”
These advocacy posts lined-up with the author’s own views, as one post states “I’m not even in favor of gay marriage” and a second adds “I’m not a gay marriage proponent.”
Another article voiced disdain toward activists who wanted a Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage, which was the vehicle ultimately used to push the measure into law.
“Why are interest groups on the left and right flogging the justices of the peace over gay marriage?” The author asked, before suggesting they should instead focus on learning if Supreme Court justices support “private property” rights.
Other comments include making gay jokes about dozens of figures in politics, media, and entertainment. The following list includes the names of people the author either accused of being gay — satirically or not — or made a gay joke about, aside from the previously mentioned Aiken and Cooper:
Supreme Court Justice John Roberts and his son, conservative pundit Michelle Malkin’s son, Republican consultant Karl Rove, actor Tom Cruise, singer Rob Thomas, Fox News host Sean Hannity, disgraced ex-lawmaker Mark Foley, late actor Heath Ledger, former vice president Dick Cheney, former president George W. Bush, talk show icon Oprah Winfrey, news personality Gayle King, Senator John McCain, boxer Laila Ali, artist Queen Latifah, former White House counsel Harriet Miers, comedian Eddie Murphy, Congressman Charlie Crist, actor Jake Gyllenhaal, former TV host Keith Olbermann, lawmaker-turned-CNN pundit Rick Santorum, and Mediaite‘s own Dan Abrams.
The author even lobbed a gay joke at Reid’s now-MSNBC colleague Chris Matthews, who was accused of “loving” Bush in the same sexual way Saudi Prince Abdullah was accused of loving the former president.
As for the posts reported in December that Mediaite can confirm Reid wrote, the AM Joy host said her gay jokes about former Republican Charlie Crist were intended to highlight the GOP’s hypocrisy on the issue, as she suggested Crist himself was gay while opposing gay marriage.
In her December statement, she apologized to Crist, who is not actually gay, and admitted her comments were “insensitive, tone deaf and dumb.”
“I deeply apologize to Congressman Crist, who was the target of my thoughtlessness,” Reid said. “My critique of anti-LGBT positions he once held but has since abandoned was legitimate in my view. My means of critiquing were not.”
She continued by admitting she is “disappointed” and apologized “to those who also are disappointed in me.”
“Life can be humbling. It often is. But I hope that you know where my heart is, and that I will always strive to use my words for good. I know better and I will do better,” Reid concluded.
Other controversial comments Reid has made on LGBTQ issues include the pundit’s 2017 tweetstorm against the supposedly “volatile & vulnerable” whistleblower Chelsea Manning — a tirade that many deemed transphobic.
[images via screengrab]
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