Rachel Maddow suggests racism is at play in cancelation of Joy Reid’s show

Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, and Lawrence O'Donnell joined Reid for her final episode, during which Maddow said she was "bereft" at Reid's departure. Maddow discussed the departure on her own show as well.

"An even bigger programming change is at 7 pm Eastern where Joy Reid's show, The ReidOut ended tonight. And Joy is not taking a different job in the network she is leaving the network altogether and that is very, very hard to take," Maddow said, before stating her age (51) and saying that she's been working since she was 12 years old.

"In all of the jobs I have had, in all of the years I have been alive, there is no colleague for whom I have had more affection and more respect than Joy Reid. I love everything about her. I have learned so much from her, I have so much more to learn from her, I do not want to lose her as a colleague here at MSNBC and personally I think it is a bad mistake to let her walk out the door. It is not my call and I understand that, but that's what I think," Maddow went on before getting to the topic of race, a common theme on Reid's show.

"I will tell you that it's also unnerving to see that on a network where we've got, two, count 'em, two non-white hosts in prime time, both of our non-white hosts in prime time are losing their shows, as is Katie Phang on the weekend. And that feels worse than bad, no matter who replaces them, that feels indefensible, and I do not defend it," Maddow said.

Reid wore her own The ReidOut MSNBC logo hoodie during her show, and asked the question that she's been harping on for months on her show, "When you are in the midst of a crisis and specifically a crisis of democracy, how do you resist, when fascism isn't just coming, it's already here?"

Reid will be replaced by a panel show with Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez. Maddow, who is returning to a Monday-only schedule after the pivotal first 100 days, will be replaced by former White House press secretary Jen Psaki.