MSNBC’s Joy Reid Sparks Debate After Calling Gabby Petito Case ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome’

MSNBC anchor Joy Reid has divided the Internet after she referred to the case of Gabby Petito — a 22-year-old influencer whose remains were recently found in Wyoming after disappearing on a cross-country road trip with her boyfriend — as “missing white woman syndrome.”

On Monday’s episode of “The ReidOut,” the journalist criticized the media’s coverage of Petito, claiming that missing people of color do not garner the same attention.

Though the news personality said Petito’s family deserves “answers and justice,” she added, “The way this story has 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.”

While crediting late journalist Gwen Ifill with coining the phrase, Reid brought up the media’s fascination with “missing white women like Laci Peterson or Natalee Holloway, while ignoring cases involving missing people of color.”

Reid then brought out Derrica Wilson of the Black and Missing Foundation and Lynette Grey Bull of Not Our Native Daughters to discuss the case of Daniel Robinson, a 24-year-old Black man who was last seen driving in an Arizona desert on June 23.

Claiming that Robinson’s story has the same kind of “sizzle” as Petito’s, Reid said she had “never heard of it until this friend of mine sent it to me. And I guess, that’s the issue, isn’t it?”

After Reid’s comments went viral, some agreed with her point.

“The sad thing is @JoyAnnReid is not wrong. There have been over 700 missing person cases in Wyoming in the last 10 years. Mostly Native American girls and you have not heard of one of them,” a Twitter user wrote.

“Joy Reid has a point. Brittany Hill was murdered by Chicago gang members while holding her daughter, all caught on tape,” a different social media user said, referencing Hill’s May 25, 2019, death in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. “Joy Reid and the left wing media ignored the case completely. Ask yourself why, then you’ll understand ‘missing white woman syndrome.’”

However, others slammed Reid as “insensitive,” given Petito’s tragic death.

“I get what Joy Reid is trying to say but this is very insensitive. You can easily create a story around missing WOC without taking a jab at Gabby Petito’s case,” a social media user wrote.

“I don’t agree with Joy Reid using the term ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome.’ I think it is very offensive, divisive and demeaning,” another added.

On Tuesday, authorities announced that the body found in Grand Teton National Park over the weekend has been positively identified as Petito.

Teton County Coroner Brent Blue also determined that Petito was a homicide victim but did not disclose a cause of death pending final autopsy results.

A major search is now underway for Petito’s boyfriend Brian Laundrie, who has been identified as a person of interest and who was last seen on September 14, when he told his parents he was going to a nearby nature reserve to meditate. His parents reported him missing three days later.