A California woman named Roslyn La Liberte has filed a defamation lawsuit against Joy Reid, accusing the MSNBC star of spreading a false claim that La Liberte hurled racial slurs toward a teenage boy while attending a Simi Valley, Calif., city council meeting in June.
Reid latched onto a viral photo of La Liberte, wearing a MAGA hat and appearing to be in a heated conversation with a hoodie-wearing boy, that went mega-viral at the time.
But the young man, 14-year-old Joseph Luevanos, told local news that La Liberte had been “civil” and was even recorded hugging her at another moment during the meeting.
“Reid used her substantial social media presence, fame, and reputation as a hard-hitting journalist to publish to her many followers that Plaintiff Roslyn La Liberte (“La Liberte”) screamed abhorrent racial slurs at a fourteen (14) year old boy,” according to the suit, filed Tuesday in Eastern District Court of New York.
The suit says that Reid targeted La Liberte because she was a Trump supporter.
“Reid set out to destroy La Liberte because she disagrees with La Liberte’s MAGA hat and the beliefs Reid ascribes to those wearing that hat conflict with her ideology,” the suit reads, going on to claim that “Reid published without any basis in fact” charges that La Liberte had screamed at the young man and called him a “dirty Mexican.”
Reps for Reid at MSNBC (which was not named in the suit) declined to comment. Reid’s lawyer John Reichman also did not immediately respond to request for comment from TheWrap over the suit.
The anchor apologized to La Liberte on Twitter after receiving a “retraction demand,” according to the suit. La Liberte says the episode led to “hundreds if not thousands of hate messages” and “threats on her life.”
It appears I got this wrong. My apologies to Mrs. La Liberte and Joseph. https://t.co/J8vZsCwAvs
It’s not the first time Reid has taken heat for spreading falsehoods online. The anchor spent much of the spring of 2018 battling revelations that she made a number of incendiary and disparaging comments on an old blog during her time as a Florida radio host.
Among the posts were 9/11 conspiracy theories, jeering claims that then-Florida governor Charlie Crist was secretly gay and a post that photoshopped John McCain’s head onto the body or Virginia Tech shooting suspect Seung-Hui Cho.
Reid compounded the issue by saying her account was hacked — a claim that met with wide skepticism. She ultimately offered multiple on-air apologies before the issue was more or less put to rest.
“I genuinely do not believe I wrote those hateful things because they are completely alien to me but I can definitely understand based on things I have tweeted, have written in the past why some people don’t believe me,” she said at the top of her MSNBC show “AM Joy” in April. “For that I am truly, truly sorry.”
Laura Ingraham's 8 Biggest Feuds, from David Hogg to LeBron James (Photos)
Laura Ingraham lost eight sponsors from her Fox News show this week after criticizing Parkland shooting survivor and activist David Hogg. And it's not even the first time she's been at the center of a public feud this year. Here are several recent instances where Ingraham has taken to Twitter or to the air and stirred national attention.
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David Hogg
On March 28, Ingraham tweeted, "David Hogg by Rejected Four Colleges To Which He Applied and whines about it." Hogg then called for a boycott of 12 companies that advertise on Ingraham's show. Eight sponsors in all, Hulu, TripAdvisor, Wayfair, Nutrish, Expedia, Stitch Fix, Johnson & Johnson and Nestle pulled their ads from “The Ingraham Angle.” Ingraham issued an apology, but didn't address the topic on her show and hasn't yet deleted her original tweet. Hogg then told CNN that he plans to put even more pressure on Ingraham and others. “The fact that they’re going after us personally shows that what we’re doing is working. We have them scared and now we have to go even harder,” Hogg said.
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LeBron James
When NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant made some anti-Trump remarks during an interview with ESPN's Cari Champion, Ingraham called James's comments "ignorant" and said, "You’re great players; no one voted for you. Millions elected Trump to be their coach. So keep the political commentary to yourself, or as someone once said, ‘shut up and dribble.'” Her statement earned a strong response from James, even though he said he didn't even know Ingraham's name. “I will not just shut up and dribble,” the Cleveland Cavaliers player said. “So, thank you, whatever her name is … I get to sit up here and talk about what’s really important and how I can help change kids." Ingraham issued a statement that there was no racial intent behind her words and that she has used the expression telling entertainers to "Shut Up" frequently in the past.
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Hillary Clinton
While speaking at the Republican National Convention, Ingraham was criticized for appearing to give the Nazi salute after her speech. She then dragged Hillary Clinton into the controversy, tweeting a collage of photos of Clinton also extending her hand in a similar fashion. "It's Hillary ... hands down!" "Duh … it’s a satiric response to the left-wing criticism of Laura’s wave last night. Desperate liberals,” Ingraham tweeted.
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Paul Ryan
Back in 2015 when Paul Ryan was being considered to be Speaker of the House, he said he would accept the job on the condition that "family comes first." "I cannot and I will not give up my family time," Ryan said. Ingraham tweeted, but later deleted, a criticism saying, "like no one has ever sacrificed family time to serve the country?" "Our country is in a crisis and we need Republican leaders willing to unconditionally offer their service to the country," she added in a separate tweet.
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Mika Brzezinski
Engaged hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough have a habit of getting flirty on "Morning Joe," and Ingraham finds it hilarious. On Feb. 8, Sean Hannity prepared to hand off the time Ingraham when she started twirling her hair, lilting her voice and doing her best flirty Brzenzski impression. “What, what Sean, you’re always right. No you’re always right. You. Are. Always. Right. I mean, really,” Ingraham said.
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Ed Schultz
Ingraham didn't start this fight. The MSNBC personality called Ingraham a "right-wing slut" on his radio show, a comment that earned him a week-long suspension from MSNBC. He apologized and called his comments "vile and inappropriate," and Ingraham accepted his apology. She even joked that Schultz used to be conservative. "We'll welcome you back with open arms," she said.
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Donald Trump
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Ingraham critiqued the president for leaving much of his executive branch understaffed. “We can all look at these horrific pictures, and we can conclude that a federal government does need staff," Ingraham said. Trump, a frequent viewer of "Fox & Friends," heard Ingraham's criticism of his administration loud and clear and responded to her directly on Twitter. "We are not looking to fill all of those positions. Don't need many of them — reduce size of government,” Trump tweeted.
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Shepard Smith
Fox News anchor Shepard Smith gave some pointed criticism to his colleagues, telling Time that he knows some of Fox's opinion shows are "strictly to be entertaining." "I don’t work there. I wouldn’t work there. I don’t want to sit around and yell at each other and talk about your philosophy and my philosophy. That sounds horrible to me.” Both Sean Hannity and Ingraham took issue with Smith's comments. "Always liked Shep, but his comments were inconsiderate & inaccurate. The hard working team at the Ingraham Angle does real reporting, develops impt sources and scores big interviews. Very proud of them," she tweeted.
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Host of “The Ingraham Angle” has also critiqued Paul Ryan, Donald Trump and Shepard Smith
Laura Ingraham lost eight sponsors from her Fox News show this week after criticizing Parkland shooting survivor and activist David Hogg. And it's not even the first time she's been at the center of a public feud this year. Here are several recent instances where Ingraham has taken to Twitter or to the air and stirred national attention.
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