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MSNBC host Joy Reid’s ratings hit hard after rampant accusations of homophobia
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MSNBC host Joy Reid’s ratings hit hard after rampant accusations of homophobia

Some of the first round of ratings have emerged since embattled MSNBC host Joy Reid became embroiled in an alleged hacking scandal, and things aren't looking good.

What's the history?

Reid, the host of MSNBC'S "AM Joy," faced heavy criticism after old personal blog posts featuring purportedly homophobic speech authored by Reid emerged in December.

The tenor of the comments in question was "homophobic conspiracies and anti-gay jokes." Initially Reid claimed that she did not write most of them, and instead said her blog was hacked.

In April, Reid addressed the controversy on her show and apologized. She said, "I genuinely do not believe I wrote those hateful things. The person I am now is not the person I was then."

What do the ratings look like now?

Reid’s audience in the coveted 25-54 demographic fell sharply by approximately 92,000 in the 10 a.m. hour and by an additional 95,000 in the 11 a.m. hour when compared to the previous week, which saw her apologize for her old anti-LGBT remarks.

Contemptor reported that Saturday ratings for "AM Joy" have steadily declined since the news of the scandal broke.

According to Contemptor, the Saturday prior to the news of the controversy breaking, "AM Joy" reached an audience of about 1.28 million viewers in the show's first hour, and 1.24 million viewers in the show's second hour.

The Saturday following Reid's apology, "AM Joy" reached an audience of about 1.03 million during the show's first hour, and 1.077 million in the show's second hour.

This past weekend, Saturday's audience reach fell to about 957,000 during the show's first hour, and 965,000 in the show's second hour.

Justin Baragona, the site's founder, wrote, "Looking at this three-week snapshot, we definitely see an erosion in viewers on Saturday post-controversy. Her show saw its demo audience drop from 263,000 to 171,000 in the 10 a.m. hour and 245,000 to 150,000 during the 11 a.m. time slot. The total audience fell from 1.28 million to 957,000 at 10 a.m. and 1.24 million to 965,000 at 11 a.m."

"Is Reid witnessing viewers turning away from her show in the wake of the controversy?" Baragona asked, noting that it's simply "too early to say."

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