Melissa Harris-Perry is parting ways with MSNBC, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The news comes just two days after Harris-Perry reportedly walked off her show after a disagreement over the direction her show was heading and preemptions for political coverage.
The anchor tweeted on Sunday morning: “Farewell #Nerdland. Inviting diverse new voices to table was a privilege. Grateful for years of support & criticism.”
Farewell #Nerdland. Inviting diverse new voices to table was a privilege. Grateful for years of support & criticism. pic.twitter.com/DJ7MMvVreN
— Melissa Harris-Perry (@MHarrisPerry) February 28, 2016
The anchor and Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University confirmed to CNNMoney that her reps are talking to MSNBC about an exit deal.
“All negotiations are occurring with third parties,” Harris-Perry said in a statement to CNNMoney. “I am not personally in direct communication with anyone employed with MSNBC. The goal of the negotiation at this point is to determine the terms of severance, not reconciliation.”
Harris-Perry recently sent an email to her staff noting that she felt “worthless” to NBC News executives. She posted her letter on Medium where she blamed NBC News chairman Andrew Lack or MSNBC president Phil Griffin for the way her show is being handled. She also confirmed to the The New York Times that she would not be appearing on her show this past weekend.
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“Here is the reality: Our show was taken — without comment or discussion or notice — in the midst of an election season,” she wrote in the letter to her staff. “After four years of building an audience, developing a brand and developing trust with our viewers, we were effectively and utterly silenced.”
“I will not be used as a tool for their purposes,” she added. “I am not a token, mammy, or little brown bobble head. I am not owned by Lack, Griffin or MSNBC. I love our show. I want it back.”
