MSNBC has fired weekend host Tiffany Cross
By becozo | November 6, 2022
Tiffany Cross, best known for hosting the freewheeling Saturday commentary program "Cross Connection," is leaving the MSNBC weekend host for the NBCUniversal-owned cable-news station.
Her production staff was informed of the decision Friday morning, according to three people familiar with the matter. MSNBC executives declined to comment and Cross could not be reached for immediate comment.
MSNBC decided not to renew Cross's contract after two years, saying it was one of those people, and immediately cut ties with her. A rotating team of anchors will lead her weekend schedule until a replacement is found, and it is believed that production staff assigned to her show may remain in place.
Two of the people said there had been speculation that Cross' relationship with MSNBC was crumbling, with executives at the network concerned about the anchor's willingness to address statements made by cable-news hosts on other networks and opinion executives. It does not meet the standards of MSNBC or NBC News.
However, the network is parting ways with an anchor that has proven popular with the audiences it seeks to attract: black viewers in general and black female viewers.
The upload was an important building block in MSNBC's efforts to add a wider variety of voices to its schedule. After competing with Jonathan Capehart and Zerlina Maxwell on Bake Off 2020 to fill the weekend slot previously hosted by Joey Reid, Cross hosted the loose but chatty show, which she promoted widely on social media.
Cross previously served as the Washington bureau chief for BT, a political analyst for MSNBC, and was a former resident fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics.
MSNBC has several options for its Saturday hour. The network has yet to announce a position for former White House press secretary Jane Psaki, who is slated to launch a new program on cable and streaming within months. But recent hires like Cathy Fang or Simon Sanders could also use it.
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