Former MSNBC host Joy Reid recently shared a video to social media claiming the popular “Jingle Bells” Christmas song was composed “to make fun of black people,” the New York Post reported Wednesday.
On her Instagram account with more than one million followers, Reid shared a video of a man standing on a street in Medford, Massachusetts, where “Jingle Bells” is believed to have been written in 1850.
The clip shows the man, wearing a Christmas sweater and Santa hat, near a gold plaque mentioning the “Jingle Bells” composer James Pierpont.
“The video caption reading ‘this is where a racist Confederate soldier wrote “Jingle Bells” to make fun of black people,’” The Post wrote.
As described by One America News: “The lengthy video goes on to claim that Pierpont’s line, ‘the one horse open sleigh,’ was written with the intended purpose of utilizing it in racist performances, which saw white actors dress up in blackface to mock Black people attempting to engage in winter activities.”
The clip also says the song’s “laughing all the way” lyrics likely stem from a racist comedic performace known as “Laughing Darkie,” OAN noted.
Reid allegedly added her own caption to the video, “American history is a horror show.”
The clip appears to have originated from an Instagram account under the username “kahlil.greene” — an influencer dedicated to “exposing historical injustice.”
Related story: MSNBC’s Joy Reid is an Anti-White Racist — And She’s a Pinhead
According to Daily Mail, “In 2022 a New York school banned students from singing [‘Jingle Bells’] over fears it was performed as a minstrel song.”
“Instead, the school replaced the festive classic with other songs that don’t have ‘the potential to be controversial or offensive’, officials said at the time,” the outlet reported.
Right-leaning publication Sky News Australia blasted Reid over the video, saying, “Fired MSNBC host Joy Reid has harnessed her inner Grinch this week by claiming the beloved Christmas anthem ‘Jingle Bells’ was written ‘to make fun of black people.’”
Conservative commentator C. Douglas Golden poked fun at Reid, saying, “Joy Reid’s back, baby! And just as insane as ever!”
“This is a woman whose tenure on MSNBC was marred by controversies, usually of the racial variety,” Golden wrote in The Western Journal. “This included up until after she was dismissed from the network that would soon become known as MS NOW for low ratings and a high price tag.”
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