Melissa Harris-Perry Abruptly Quits MSNBC!

Melissa Harris-Perry dropped from MSNBC.

Looks like your #Nerdland may be over at MSNBC. It seems like Melissa Harris-Perry abruptly parted ways with the network. The network has primarily been focused on the 2016 presidential race and its given fodder time to covering the campaign rallies of Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

The host says that the network scrapped the show for political coverage. She is not happy about it.

She posted on her official social media page and the websites picked up on it.

Dearest Nerds,

As you know by now, my name appears on the weekend schedule for MSNBC programming from South Carolina this Saturday and Sunday. I appreciate that many of you responded to this development with relief and enthusiasm.

To know that you have missed working with me even a fraction of how much I've missed working with all of you is deeply moving. However, as of this morning, I do not have any intention of hosting this weekend. Because this is a decision that affect all of you, I wanted to take a moment to explain my reasoning.

Some unknown decision-maker presumably Andy Lack (of NBC News) or Phil Griffin (of MSNBC), has added my name to this spreadsheet but nothing has change in the posture of the MSNBC leadership team towards me or towards our show. Putting me on air seems to be a decision being made to save face because there is a growing chorus of questions from our viewers about my notable absence from MSNBC coverage. Social media has noted the dramatic change in editorial tone and racial composition of MSNBC's on-air coverage. In addition, Dylan Byers of CNN has made repeated inquiries with MSNBC's leadership and with me about the show and what appears to be its cancellation. I have not responded to reporters or social media inquiries.

However, I am not willing to appear on air in order to quell concerns about the disappearance of our show and our voice.

Here is the reality: our show was taken - without comment or discussion or notice - in the midst of an election season. After four years of building an audience, developing a brand, and developing a trust with our viewers, we were effectively and utterly silenced.

Now, MSNBC would like me to appear for four inconsequential hours to read news that they deem relevant without returning to our team any of the editorial control and authority that makes MHP Show distinctive.

The purpose of this decision seems to be to provide cover for MSNBC, not to provide voice for MHP Show. I will not be used as a tool for their purposes. I am not a token, mammy, or a little brown bobble head. I am not owned by Lack, Griffin, or MSNBC. I love our show. I want it back. I have wept more tears than I can count and I find this deeply painful, but I don't want back on air at any cost. I am only willing to return when that return happens under certain terms.

Undoubtedly, television nurtures the egos of those of us who find ourselves in front of the bright lights and big cameras. I am sure ego is informing my own pain in this moment, but there is a level of professional decency, respect, and communication that has been denied this show for years. And the utter insulting absurdity of the past few weeks exceeds anything I can countenance.

I have stayed in the same hotels where MSNBC had been broadcasting in Iowa, in New Hampshire, and in South Carolina, yet I have been shut out from coverage. I have a PhD in political science and have taught American voting and elections at some of the nation's top universities for nearly two decades, yet I have been deemed less worthy to weigh in than relative novices and certified liars. I have hosted a weekly program on this network for four years and contributed to election coverage on this network for nearly eight years, but no on on the third floor has even returned an email, called me, or initiated or responded to any communication of any kind from me for nearly a month. It is profoundly hurtful to realize that I work for people who find my considerable expertise and editorial judgment valueless to the coverage they are creating.

While MSNBC may believe that I am worthless, I know better. I know who I am. I know why MHP Show is unique and valuable. I will not sell short myself or this show. I am not hungry for empty airtime, I care only about substantive, meaningful, and autonomous work. When we can do that, I will return - not a moment earlier. I am deeply sorry for the ways that this decision makes life harder for all of you. You mean more to me than you can imagine.

Yours always,

Melissa

It seems like MSNBC is sticking to the liberal agitators of the primetime. Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell are stable for the time being.

MSNBC is turning into strictly news format. After it took a rise in 2013, it sank again in the ratings.

CNN is still cruising in the second place spot. But Fox News is beating the networks in a 2:1 margin.

I've always enjoyed Melissa Harris-Perry's show. What could happen now that she's departed from the network in such a fashion. Will you watch the network?