An ex-host at MSNBC is lawyering up and ready to battle it out in the courts after she was abruptly fired from the network earlier this month, according to reports.
New details have emerged about Tiffany Cross, who formerly hosted The Cross Connection between 2020-2022 and was let go after “executives at the network [were] growing concerned about the anchor’s willingness to address statements made by cable-news hosts on other networks and indulging in commentary executives felt did not meet the standards of MSNBC or NBC News,” according to Variety.
The media personality has reportedly sought a case against MSNBC’s president Rashida Jones, who “Cross suspects may have been motivated to make the decision due to a personal vendetta,” according to The Grio.
Jones reportedly “called Tiffany directly and said they won’t be renewing her contract, effective immediately,” said MSNBC at the time of the firing.
But Cross isn’t going down without a fight. “The lawyers have been in touch. She wants to know why she got fired,” a source told Page Six.
The former host has hired attorney Bryan Freedman, whose resume includes several high-profile disputes including Gabrielle Union’s lawsuit against NBC’s America’s Got Talent. He also represented Sage Steele in her suit against ESPN for issues related to free speech policies.
Many speculated that Cross was fired because of controversial statements she made on both MSNBC and NBC.
Both NBC News and MSNBC said that some of Cross’ discussions “did not meet their standards, The Grio reported.
Her show, however, was the network’s highest-rated weekend show with a viewing audience that exceeded more than 35% of Black viewers, according to the Los Angeles Times.
An anonymous source for Page Six compared her situation with other embattled MSNBC hosts who were involved in controversies but were still allowed to work at the network.
“What’s the business case for letting her go? Brian Williams lied and they brought him back. Joe [Scarborough] and Mika [Brzezinski] had a [romance], and they expanded their hours and paid them more money. Many people in the business feel like [Cross] was made an example out of.”
