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Joy Reid On Why People Care About Gabby Petito: They’re Suffering From ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome’

   DailyWire.com
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 13: Joy Reid attends the National Town Hall on the second day of the 48th Annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation on September 13, 2018 in Washington, DC.
Earl Gibson III/Getty Images

MSNBC host Joy Reid suggested on Monday that the reason that people care about the disappearance of 22-year-old Gabby Petito is because they are suffering from “missing white woman syndrome.”

“If you’ve been watching the news for the past few days or on Twitter or Tik Tok, you’re probably familiar with the name Gabby Petito,” she began. “The 22 year old aspiring social media influencer, who was reported missing after her fiancé returned from their van life excursion without her.”

“Now it goes without saying that no family should ever have to endure that kind of pain, and the Petito family certainly deserve answers and justice. But the way this story has captivated the nation has many wondering, why not the same media attention when people of color go missing?” Reid asked. “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 missing people of color.”

WATCH:

“Petito [22] was last heard from in late August, and her family reported her missing on September 11th, after [her fiancé Brian Laundrie, 23] appeared at his family’s home in Florida in the couple’s shared camper — but without Petito,” The Daily Wire reported. “The two had been living with Laundrie’s family in Florida before deciding to embark on a cross-country trip that they were planning to document on social media.”

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT:

JOY REID, MSNBC HOST: If you’ve been watching the news for the past few days or on Twitter or Tik Tok, you’re probably familiar with the name Gabby Petito. The 22 year old aspiring social media influencer, who was reported missing after her fiancé returned from their van life excursion without her.

On Sunday human remains believed to be Petito’s were found in a national park in Wyoming. An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow to confirm the identity. Now it goes without saying that no family should ever have to endure that kind of pain, and the Petito family certainly deserve answers and justice. But the way this story has captivated the nation 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 Eiffel, to describe the media and public fascination with missing white women like Lacey Peterson or Natalie Holloway, while ignoring cases involving missing people of color.

Related: 

This article has been revised to correct misspellings of various names. 

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