Former MSNBC (now MS NOW) anchor Joy Reid has thanked Tamron Hall for supporting her during challenges with hair and makeup early in her TV news career.
Reid opened up about her early struggles at the third annual Behind the Scenes Beauty Day Soirée, organized by The View hairstylist Derick Monroe. After being honored at the event, the political commentator revealed she was often in tears during her early days at MSNBC because no one understood Black haircare and skincare.
“I walked into a media world that did not see me,” she said, per Page Six. “I was being damaged. Not only was my image less than it should’ve been [but] I was spending so much money to repair the damage that was being done to my hair, my face, my body, by people, who did not know.”
The situation became so bad that Reid admitted she had questioned her career as a TV host. “I was crying. I didn’t want to be on TV because I didn’t look good and I didn’t feel good about myself trying to just tell the truth and just do my job as a journalist.”
However, things started to change thanks to Hall, a fellow Black host at the network who, at the time, presented Today’s Take, the third hour of Today. Reid said that Hall went to bat for her, demanding that the top brass hire a team who understood the nuances of different skin and hair types.
Reid revealed that Hall marched into the boss’ office and said, “‘This is unacceptable. This sister deserves better than this, and this has to change.'”
“There were no Black hair and makeup people in the studio at MSNBC. Not one!” Reid continued. “And overtime, thank God, I actually was good at my job, and I developed enough authority to be able to curate my own hair and makeup team.”
Reid was let go by MSNBC in February 2025 amid a major network overhaul. She went on to launch her own YouTube show, The Joy Reid Show, which debuted in June 2025. Reid said she now makes sure to have a well-equipped glam team for herself and her guests.
“I was very intentional about having diverse guests, who were Black and brown, Latina, who were AAPI, who were of all shapes and shades and sizes, and I wanted them all to look beautiful, because it’s a visual media,” she shared. “So, as you were speaking, people could see and hear you.”
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