Joy Reid Calls Out Coverage of Gabby Petito Case as ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome’
On Monday’s ReidOut, Joy Reid relayed the latest developments of the case of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old woman who went missing while on a road trip with her boyfriend. A body matching her description has been found, and police say her boyfriend, who is currently missing, is a person of interest in the case. The case has made national headlines. Reid said the Petito family deserves answers and justice.
“The way this story has captivated the nation,” said Reid, “has many wondering, why not the same media attention when people of color go missing? Well, the answer actually has a name: Missing White Woman Syndrome – the term coined by the late and great Gwen Ifill to describe the media and public fascination with missing White women like Laci Peterson or Natalee Holloway, while ignoring cases involving of people of color.
Reid hosted a discussion with Derrica Wilson of the Black and Missing Foundation, and Lynette Grey Bull of the Not Our Native Daughters Foundation.
The MSNBC host highlighted the case of Daniel Robinson, who like Petito was in his 20s and was last seen in a remote area in the west.
“I never heard of it until this friend of mine sent it to me,” said Reid. “And I guess, that’s the issue, isn’t it?”
“It is definitely the issue,” said Wilson. “And we have been sounding the alarm for nearly 14 years because of this. When it comes to missing persons of color, men, women and children, our cases are not taken seriously and no one is looking for us if we were to go missing.
Turning to Grey Bull, Reid noted that missing indigenous women also receive a dearth of media coverage. She asked, “From your point of view, why is it that indigenous missing – particularly women –don’t get that kind of attention?”
“I think there are a lot of factors,” said Grey Bull. “One of the main factors and one of the key factors that a lot of people don’t want to talk about is that it’s racism. It’s systemic racism. We’re still fighting oppression in our tribal communities. We are still facing inequality across the board, whether it comes to our community, housing, jobs. I mean, you can pick any topic in any country and have an issue there. So it’s no different when it comes to missing, murdered indigenous women and girls.”
Watch aboe via MSNBC.
