In yet another example of the Left’s obsession with tearing down American culture, former MSNBC host Joy Reid has launched a baseless attack on Elvis Presley—an icon of American music—calling his nickname “The King” racist and claiming he stole his greatest hit from a black artist. Her remarks, filled with contempt for America’s cultural heritage, were delivered during an appearance on far-left journalist Wajahat Ali’s show The Left Hook.

Reid, who was fired from MSNBC earlier this year, used the platform to vent about the Trump administration’s decision to audit the Smithsonian Institution, which has come under fire for pushing divisive, race-centric ideologies in taxpayer-funded museums. According to Reid, these efforts are a front for erasing America’s painful past—an ironic accusation given her own attempt to rewrite music history for political gain.

Taking aim at the legendary Elvis Presley, Reid claimed that white men “can’t invent anything more than they were originally able to invent good music.” She added, “We black folk gave y’all country music, hip-hop, R&B, jazz, rock and roll. They couldn’t even invent that.” In an inflammatory statement, she continued, “But they have to call a white man ‘The King’ because they couldn’t make rock and roll. So, they have to stamp ‘The King’ on a man whose main song was stolen from an overweight black woman.”

Reid’s comments were clearly a reference to Hound Dog, a song first recorded in 1952 by Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton. While Thornton’s version was a hit on the R&B charts, selling approximately 500,000 copies, it was Presley’s 1956 recording that brought the song into mainstream American households. Elvis’s version became a cultural phenomenon, selling over 10 million copies and staying at number one on the pop charts for 11 weeks.

To suggest that Elvis “stole” Hound Dog is to ignore the music industry realities of the 1950s, where songs were regularly covered by different artists across racial and genre lines. Presley, like many musicians of his era, was influenced by a broad array of styles—many of them black in origin—which he openly acknowledged. Accusing him of theft is not only historically dishonest, but it also dismisses the undeniable impact he had on integrating American music during a racially segregated era.

Reid also lashed out at the Trump administration’s move to restore balance to public institutions. President Trump’s 2025 executive order announced an audit of Smithsonian exhibits, citing a growing bias and “divisive, race-centered ideology.” According to the administration, the goal is to make federally funded museums more inclusive of all Americans—rather than pushing one-sided political narratives.

But Reid wasn’t interested in nuance. She claimed white men “can’t fix the history they did,” adding, “Their ancestors made the country into a slave hell. But they can clean it up now because they got the Smithsonian. They can get rid of all the slavery stuff.”

Her radical remarks came in a video bluntly titled; How Mediocre White Men and Their Fragility Are Destroying America—a clear display of divisive identity politics cloaked as cultural commentary.

Reid was let go from MSNBC in February as part of widespread cuts ahead of NBCUniversal’s planned restructuring. While some speculated the move was financial, sources close to the network also cited concerns about her inflammatory rhetoric and increasingly fringe views. Since her departure, MSNBC has announced a rebranding—shifting to “My Source News Opinion World,” or “MS NOW.”

Yet Reid has found a new home on Substack, where she now claims 168,000 subscribers. The platform confirmed she’s among its “bestsellers,” though it remains unclear how many of her subscribers are paying for her content.

In the end, Elvis Presley remains a beloved icon who helped shape modern music and bridge racial divides in a deeply segregated America. Reid’s smear campaign may earn her applause in activist circles, but to millions of Americans, “The King” remains exactly that—a pioneer whose legacy stands tall, despite the Left’s best efforts to tear it down.

What’s next—declaring George Washington a symbol of white fragility because he wore a powdered wig?