Former MSNBC host Joy Reid has just released a controversial statement and has essentially reignited the so-called ‘War on Christmas.’ In her statement, Reid claims that the beloved Christmas song “Jingle Bells” is racist and is tied to minstrel shows. She also claimed that the song mocks black people.
This claim from Joy Reid has sparked another round of debate on how Americans interpret history and cultural references.
Reid posted a video to her 1.3 million followers on her Instagram account. In this video, you can see the original poster wearing a Christmas sweater and a Santa hat, and standing on a street in Medford, Massachusetts. He is standing next to a plaque marking the location where composer James Lord Pierpont allegedly wrote the tune in 1850.
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However, it is not the visuals of the video that caused the uproar, but the captions visible on the screen that read that this site commemorates a “racist Confederate soldier” who wrote the song to “make fun of black people”.
The captions in the video also claimed that the original idea behind the song was for white people in blackface to perform this song. Putting on blackface by white performers is a practice that equates to the denigration of African American people.
The video references historian Kyna Hamil and her 2017 research. In her research, Hamil explores the complex history of American theatre and slavery. There is a specific relationship between slavery and the practice of blackface minstrelsy, which influenced a lot of popular entertainment at the time.
The research also claims that Pierpont later renamed the song as “Jingle Bells” by 1859. The video posted by Reid then goes on to allege that he abandoned his northern family and joined the Confederate army, and wrote war songs.
There are a few references to Black people in the song, as per Hamil. Phrases like “laughing all the way” could potentially be linked to the racist comedic routine of the era known as ‘Laughing Darky’.
Reid then added her own caption to the video, saying that “American history is a horror show,” and added exclamation point emojis.
The social media’s response to this post was swift. Many of her followers and other users have ridiculed the notion that “Jingle Bells” is a racist song and was written to make fun of black people.
BREAKING 🅱️
Joy Reid is now claiming that ‘Jingle Bells’ is RAClST…
— American AF 🇺🇸 (@iAnonPatriot) December 10, 2025
One user on X wrote, “People should start blasting jingle bells all day long around Joyless Reid.” Another posted, “Omg the mental gymnastics this requires is mind boggling! Believe it or not nobody cares if you’re black. This is a favorite and very well-loved Christmas carol.”
Critics of Reid’s video allege that she is simplifying and sensationalizing the history and is trying to transform scholarly examinations into cultural wars.
However, Reid didn’t conduct this research herself. The claims that “Jingle Bells” has a racist origin can be traced to the studies of Hamil and others. The research shows detailed studies of minstrel shows and blackface in popular culture. Reid has since deleted the video.
This uproar around the video shows how history will always have controversies woven into its many chapters.
