A controversial TV host has sparked a debate after blasting the media for doing coverage on missing van-life girl Gabby Petito.
As Joy Reid of MSNBC argued on Monday, Petito’s case was a clear example of “missing white woman syndrome,” whereas she claimed that the media wouldn’t focus on her disappearance should she be a person of color.
“It goes without saying that no family should ever have to endure that kind of pain,” the host said as she spoke about the highly publicized disappearance during her ReidOut program.
“But the way this story has captivated the nation has many wondering – why not the same media attention when people of color go missing?”
As Reid added, she believes she has the answer to that question. “Well, the answer actually has a name – Missing white woman syndrome,” she continued.
The newscaster then went on to accuse the media and the public of being fascinated by cases involving missing white women “while ignoring cases involving missing people of color.”
During the program, Reid also invited panelists Lynette Grey Bull and Derrica Wilson to discuss the cases of people of color whose disappearances were allegedly overlooked by the media because of their skin color.
“It is definitely the issue,” Derrica Wilson of the Black and Missing Foundation said as she insisted cases involving POC are being overlooked after Reid made a reference to 24-year-old missing Black man Daniel Robinson.
“One of the main factors and one of the key factors that a lot of people don’t want to talk about is that it’s racism. It’s systemic racism,” Lynette Grey Bull of Not Our Native Daughters Foundation added.
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