Joy Ann Reid Sparks Debate Online Over “Missing White Woman Syndrome” Comment

Host Joy Ann Reid is in the news again because of her fiery commentary.

On Monday’s airing of The Reid Out, the MSNBC host addressed the massive media coverage surrounding Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, the young New York woman found dead in Wyoming after going missing earlier this month while on a road trip from Florida with her fiancé.

While addressing the sadness of the Petito case, Reid also couldn’t help but point out the differences in coverage of people of color.

“The way this story captivated the nation has many wondering, why not the same media attention when people of color go missing? Well, the answer actually has a name: missing white woman syndrome.”

She said the term had been “coined by the late and great Gwen Ifill to describe the media and public fascination with missing white women like Laci Peterson or Natalee Holloway, while ignoring cases involving of people of color.”

During her show with representatives from the Black and Missing Foundation and Not Our Native Daughters Foundation Reid also shed light on a missing 24-year-old black male who disappeared after a car accident in June whose case is only now starting to get attention.

“I never heard of it until this friend of mine sent it to me, said Reid speaking about the case of missing geologist Daniel Robinson.

Still the focus seemed to be on Reid’s “missing white woman syndrome” comment which sparked quite the debate on Twitter.

One user said: “Joy Ann Reid is absolutely right,” while another said: “This is not the time to play race card.”

https://twitter.com/cmclymer/status/1440365885781282822?s=20

This is not the time to play the "race card" @JoyAnnReid Are your ratings that bad? America, below is Reid's latest racist rant!
Joy Ann Reid: Media is Reporting Gabby Petito's disappearance as "Missing White Woman Syndrome."

— TheLeoTerrell (@TheLeoTerrell) September 21, 2021

So do you agree with Joy’s take on the inconsistencies in media coverage of white women v. others? Let us know in the comments.