Source: Semafor
More than 40 African-American political leaders are demanding a meeting with MSNBC president Rashida Jones over the network’s decision not to renew weekend host Tiffany Cross’ show.
In a letter circulated in recent days and obtained by Semafor, civil rights figures including NAACP president Derrick Johnson and Color of Change president Rashad Robinson, as well as media personalities including the former ESPN commentator Jemele Hill criticized Jones for the move. The letter requests a meeting to “discuss a path forward that is restorative to the reputation and dignity of Ms. Cross.”
“We are deeply disappointed in the abrupt cancellation of the Cross Connection and the unexpected ouster of its host, just four days before a critical midterm election,” the letter says.
The letter also admonishes the network for not renewing Cross after she was the subject of a lengthy recent segment on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show in which he described her rhetoric as “genocidal talk.”
“His intentional misrepresentation of her platform amounted to no less than a direct attack, and should have engendered immediate defense and support of Ms. Cross by her parent network. Instead, it appears that NBCUniversal has allowed Fox News to dictate its hiring and unwarranted firing decisions. We cannot afford to be bullied by those who willingly and wantonly drag this country backwards,” the signatories write.
