Former MSNBC host Krystal Ball said she was reprimanded by higher-ups at the network for criticizing Hillary Clinton in 2014.
Ball, a former Democrat Party congressional candidate from Virginia, co-hosted MSNBC’s “The Cycle” from 2012 until 2015.
According to Ball, executives from the network reacted negatively to a segment she released putting Clinton on blast for various topics such as her deep ties with Wall Street and extreme unlikability with voters, telling her, “Next time you do any commentary on Hillary Clinton, it has to get approved by the president of the network.”
At the time, MSNBC’s president was Phil Griffin.
Ball’s remarks came during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience.
Points Ball said she shared on the controversial segment including her discussing how “people are gonna hate this lady” and that Clinton is a “terrible candidate for the moment.”
She added, “I deliver my thing. I did it exactly how I wanted to do it.”
🚨Bombshell insight into NBC News🚨
Former MSNBC host Krystal Ball to Joe Rogan on how MSNBC tried to control her coverage of Hillary Clinton in 2014:
"I did a monologue when Hillary Clinton was building up to run for president… I did this whole thing that was like, 'She sold… https://t.co/x5E0EeHAuN pic.twitter.com/Rfqi3Tnh0A
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 12, 2023
Ball indicated that while she did continue to speak on Clinton, MSNBC’s orders caused her to hesitate with future criticisms of the failed Democrat presidential candidate.
“Listen, I’m a human being,” she said. “I’m sure I responded to the incentives of that system, like, ‘God, I don’t want to get in trouble with the boss.'”
“That’s the way that it works [in cable news],” continued Ball. “Oftentimes, people [who work at the network] know where the boundaries are. They know what they’re allowed to say.”
“So they don’t need that direct intervention of censorship.”
She additionally claimed that most people working in the world of cable news “aren’t really there because they’re talented,” but rather have been selected for their roles as “they are reliable purveyors of whatever it is that that network wants to purvey.”
“That’s ultimately why they get the job and they understand the parameters of the task.”
Since leaving the network, Ball has created a PAC supporting far-left candidates and runs a podcast called “Breaking Points,” along with her co-host Saagar Enjeti. The show has seen quite a bit of success, routinely ranking in the top 100 for views gathered on Apple Podcasts in the United States, according to Chartable.