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After not appearing on the Joe Budden Podcast for several episodes, many listeners assumed that podcast co-host Melyssa Ford’s time with the program had come to an end. Especially after a new female co-host, Mona, was recently added to the program.
Joe Budden Confirms Melyssa Ford’s Exit From His Podcast
Still, there had been no official word on whether Ford was still part of the podcast. However, rap artist Jim Jones recently had Budden as a guest on his podcast Artist 2 Artist. And in true Harlem fashion, he addressed the elephant in the room.
“Is Melyssa still a part of the show or not, or is it just Mona a part of the show now?” Jones asked.
Surprisingly, Budden had no problem answering the question and was transparent in doing so. Budden appeared to confirm rumors that her exit was based on them not agreeing on a new contract.
“I didn’t do a swap… I didn’t do a swap,” Budden explained. “Melyssa stepped away, and Mona—we were negotiating for quite some time. Shouts out to Melyssa, we love her.”
However, there didn’t appear to be any sour feelings from Budden’s side about her exit from the program. As Budden suggested, Ford had gotten too big to limit herself to being a cohost on the Joe Budden Podcast. And the time had come for her to spread her wings.
“It’s only so long you can contain good talent like that,” he added. “The dogs get big and gotta leave the cage at some point. So Mona is great. We love Mel. Shout out to her.”
Jim jones asking Joe budden if dont call me white girl was a swap for Melyssa Ford on the show . pic.twitter.com/g223r5IEs0
— joebuddenclips/fanpage (@chatnigga101) November 24, 2025
However, during a recent episode of her podcast, Hot & Bothered, Ford appeared to offer a differing opinion on her exit.
She referenced having to deal with “a certain group of men” who have engaged in “groupthink.” Ford also noted that groupthink tends to “lean very misogynistically.”
She appeared to hint at tension between her and her male co-hosts on the podcast.
“I’ve had my own experiences being around a certain group of men who have exhibited groupthink,” she said. “And that groupthink tends to lean very misogynistically. It affects you as somebody who is just kind of absorbing it, simply because I’m a woman and I’m the woman in the room.”
It will be interesting to see if Melyssa responds to Budden’s recent comments.
