Why did MSNBC cancel show hosted by Mehdi Hasan, fierce critic of Israel’s war?
The US cable TV channel MSNBC announced on Thursday that it is canceling Mehdi Hasan’s Sunday night show, prompting a backlash from progressives and pro-Palestinian activists.
The US cable TV channel MSNBC announced on Thursday that it is canceling Mehdi Hasan’s Sunday night show as part of a broader shake-up across the network’s weekend programming.
Semafor was first to report the news, saying that Hasan will remain with the network as an on-camera analyst and fill-in host.
"The Mehdi Hasan Show" will be replaced by an additional hour of "Ayman," the news program hosted by Egyptian-American TV anchor Ayman Mohyeldin.
MSNBC, which also canceled the show of Yasmin Vossoughian, said that its weekend programming will now include a two-hour block called "The Weekend."
“'The Weekend' will provide thoughtful analysis and coverage from three trusted voices familiar to the MSNBC audience,” the network said in a statement. “The program will deliver in-depth commentary and thought-provoking conversations on the state of democracy, particularly as the 2024 presidential election kicks off,” it added.
Hasan is fierce critic of Israeli policies
Hasan, a British-American broadcaster formerly with Al Jazeera English, premiered the show on NBC's Peacock in October 2020 and had hosted it on MSNBC since February 2021.
He is known to be a fierce interviewer and a skilled debater who fact-checks guests on air. Many of his interviews have gone viral, including a few during the Israel-Hamas war.
Earlier this month he interviewed Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in what turned out to be a relentless takedown of official Israeli talking points on the Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza.
Hasan asked, “They’re people your government has killed. You’ve killed children. You accept that, right? Or do you deny that?”
To which Regev replied, “No, I do not. You don’t know how those people died. Those children.” More than 5,000 children have been killed in Gaza since the war started, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Israeli government senior spokesperson Mark Regev tells MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan that he does “not accept that Israel has killed children in Gaza.” He goes on to say, “We do not know how these children died.” pic.twitter.com/RtXI3K8p6T
— Joe Brolly (@JoeBrolly1993) November 17, 2023
Progressive author Sarah Kendzior said it was interviews like the one Hasan conducted with Regev that are behind the cancellation.
They canceled Mehdi Hasan for interviews like this — evidence-based and willing to challenge power — and it is doubtful he will be the only journalist pushed out for daring to practice journalism. https://t.co/LojbA9fZoh
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) November 30, 2023
There was also backlash from members of Congress. “It is bad optics for MSNBC to cancel @mehdirhasan’s show right at a time when he is vocal for human rights in Gaza with the war ongoing,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) wrote on X.
He added, “MSNBC owes the public an explanation for this decision. Why would they choose to do this now?”
It is bad optics for MSNBC to cancel @mehdirhasan’s show right at a time when he is vocal for human rights in Gaza with the war ongoing. As a strong supporter of free speech, MSNBC owes the public an explanation for this decision. Why would they choose to do this now?
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) November 30, 2023
Palestinian activist Noura Erakat lamented the decision on X, saying the show “felt like an oasis on air and more needed than ever. His program with Mark Regev was a whole class on journalistic method. He should be amplified, not shut down.”
Hasan was one of the few Muslim anchors on American television.
