MSNBC host and political commentator Joy Reid confronted conservative TV personality Tucker Carlson’s flurry of racially charged barbs during a #ReidOut segment on Monday night.
For months, Carlson has been referring to the news host as the “race lady,” often criticizing her for being forthright about the nature of racial oppression.
"Well, Joy-Ann Reid, the race lady over at MSNBC, took a quick break from haranguing whitey yesterday to reveal something deeply personal about herself on television," Carlson said in a recent video segment.
In addition to calling her "race lady," Carlson has also brought up her having graduated from an Ivy League institution. In response, Reid set the record straight about her views on face masks, vaccinations, as well her academic integrity.
"Did he say 'whitey?' Oh, honey. Honey. Tuckums,” she began. “Is this really about me fixating on race, or is it about you fixating on race? I mean, when you recently went off on me for continuing to mask up post-vaccine while jogging in crowded Central Park, you weirdly, as you did in that montage, threw in my attending Harvard. And I don't know, maybe I'm sensitive to this stuff, but it felt kind of like a dog whistle."
"I mean did you want to go to Harvard? Did they reject you and you think, eh 'they let the race lady in, oh affirmative action?'" the MSNBC host said before giving her take on affirmative action.
The 52-year-old New York native later goes into detail about how affirmative action functions, since the conservative commentator appeared captivated with her attendance at the Ivy League institution.
“Well, listen, let me cheer you up, OK?” she continued. “I got into Harvard, and okay, Yale, Vassar, and the University of Denver, too, because I had really high GPA and fantastic SAT scores. And that’s how affirmative action works, love. Schools search for smart people from diverse backgrounds so these schools won’t be as dry as the major sports leagues were before they desegregated. See?”
On the subject of wearing a mask even after being vaccinated, Reid said, “the reason I continue to mask up in crowded places is because I don’t know how many people in those crowds that I’m jogging around didn’t hear about the court case where your bosses said that your show isn’t news. So, they listen to you like you are the news.”
In a tirade last month, Carlson condemned the practice of wearing a mask, saying it strips people of their individuality.
"Masks have always been incompatible with a free society. We used to know that. Masks strip people of their identity as individuals, transform people from citizens into drones. They isolate us and alienate us to shut us off from one another, they prevent intimacy and human contact. If I can’t see your face, I can’t know you,” he said.
On Monday, Reid said Carlson is "making America worse" by spewing skepticism about masks, COVID-19 vaccines and spreading a destructive conspiracy theory that Democrats are bringing immigrants over to replace Americans.
“People like you and your friends and the B.S. factory are keeping us steeped in COVID sickness and rage and paranoia, and the ways in which you, lil’ Tucker, are making America worse are why I will continue to keep my mask on in a crowd,” Reid said.
