Report: Security Expert Doubts Joy Reid's 'Hacker' Excuse over Homophobic Blog Posts

A security expert has reportedly expressed doubt over MSNBC host Joy Reid’s claims that newly-discovered homophobic posts on her old blog were actually written by “hackers.”

Cybersecurity expert Jeffrey Carr, who spoke to the Intercept, claimed he had “never heard” of a case where hackers were able to hack the Wayback Machine, and added, “That’s an awful lot of work for a hacker to do, and for what end? To make a homophobic person appear MORE homophobic?”

In the posts, Reid made several homophobic comments, including, “most straight people cringe at the sight of two men kissing.”

“Most straight people had a hard time being convinced to watch ‘Broke Back Mountain.’ (I admit that I couldn’t go see the movie either, despite my sister’s ringing endorsement, because I didn’t want to watch the two male characters having sex.) Does that make me homophobic? Probably,” added Reid, while in others she referred to homosexuality as “gross,” expressed opposition to gay marriage, and accused dozens of celebrities of being gay.

After Mediaite reached out to Reid regarding their discovery of the homophobic blog posts, she blamed the posts on hackers who she alleged had hacked and modified the Wayback Machine — a website used to view old sites which have since been changed or deleted.

“In December I learned that an unknown, external party accessed and manipulated material from my now-defunct blog, The Reid Report, to include offensive and hateful references that are fabricated and run counter to my personal beliefs and ideology,” she claimed.

“I began working with a cyber-security expert who first identified the unauthorized activity, and we notified federal law enforcement officials of the breach. The manipulated material seems to be part of an effort to taint my character with false information by distorting a blog that ended a decade ago,” Reid declared. “Now that the site has been compromised I can state unequivocally that it does not represent the original entries. I hope that whoever corrupted the site recognizes the pain they have caused, not just to me, but to my family and communities that I care deeply about: LGBTQ, immigrants, people of color and other marginalized groups.”

Reid has previously apologized for making homophobic comments, and was subsequently defended by verified left-wing Twitter users, including fellow MSNBC employee Joan Walsh.