MSNBC’s Joy Reid criticized late radio legend Rush Limbaugh Wednesday as a racist who used his Black executive producer as a cover to do “racist stuff.”
Reid’s comments came hours after Limbaugh’s wife announced his death to millions of his radio listeners. Limbaugh had been battling stage 4 lung cancer for at least a year.
“He got White Americans to hate the Affordable Care Act,” Reid said on The Reidout. Limbaugh’s producer whose real name is James Golden but used the name Bo Snerdley responded on Twitter.
“You should be ashamed of yourself for spreading these horrible lies,” Snerdley reacted. “But that would require a [conscience]. God Bless you with one – and a compassionate heart, I pray.”
Limbaugh’s death prompted reactions from those who loved him and those who hated him. The New York Times penned an obituary that suggested Snerdley did not exist.
“Unlike Howard Stern, Don Imus and other big names in shock radio,” the paper wrote. “Mr. Limbaugh had no on-the-air sidekicks, though he had conversations with the unheard voice of someone he called ‘Bo Snerdly.’ Nor did he have writers, scripts, or outlines, just notes and clippings from newspapers he perused daily.”
Snerdley posted a brief message on Twitter earlier in the day after Limbaugh’s passing was announced. “God, Bless you Rush. I love you. Always and ever,” he wrote.
