MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry is boycotting her show this weekend in protest against MSNBC's preemption of the show, which premiered four years ago, according to The New York Times.
In an email to her staff, Harris-Perry said she felt "worthless" in the eyes of NBC News executives after her show was replaced with general news programming the last few weekends.
"Here is the reality: Our show was taken - without comment or discussion or notice - in the midst of an election season. After four years of building an audience, developing a brand and developing trust with our viewers, we were effectively and utterly silenced," she wrote in the email, which was released on Friday.
Harris-Perry, who is an African-American, said that NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack and President Phil Griffin had put her on the schedule in order to "provide cover" and "save face" from social media backlash over its lack of diversity, according to New York Magazine.
"I will not be used as a tool for their purposes. I am not a token, mammy, or little brown bobble head. I am not owned by Lack, Griffin or MSNBC. I love our show. I want it back," she said.
NBC called Harris-Perry's decision to walk off her show "surprising" and "disappointing."
"In this exciting and unpredictable presidential primary season, many of our daytime programs have been temporarily upended by breaking political coverage, including M.H.P," the network said, according to CNN. "This reaction is really surprising, confusing and disappointing."
