CNN has banned a conservative commentator from appearing on the network again after he told a Muslim journalist "I hope your beeper doesn't go off," an apparent reference to the spate of exploding pagers in Lebanon that killed members of the Hezbollah militant group last month.
Ryan Girdusky made the comment during a heated debate with Mehdi Hasan, a prominent British-American broadcaster and an outspoken critic of Israel's war in Gaza, on "CNN Newsnight" with host Abby Phillip.
The guests were discussing the racist jokes made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, which overshadowed former President Donald Trump's rally at New York's Madison Square Garden on Sunday and continued to make headlines two days later.
As the debate turned fractious, Girdusky and Hasan sparred over whether the latter had been labeled an anti-Semite. "I'm a supporter of the Palestinians, I'm used to it," Hasan said.
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Girdusky replied: "Well I hope your beeper doesn't go off."
Hasan responded: "Did you just say I should die? You just said I should be killed."
When Phillip called out the comment, Girdusky apologized, claiming he heard Hasan say he supported Hamas. After a commercial break both Girdusky and Hasan had left the roundtable discussion.
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"There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air," the network said in a statement shared by Phillip on social media. "We aim to foster thoughtful conversations and debate between people who profoundly disagree with each other in order to explore important issues and promote mutual understanding," it said.
"But we will not allow guests to be demeaned or for the line of civility to be crossed. Ryan Girdusky will not be welcomed back at our network."
Sharing @CNN’s statement and a quick message from me about what happened on tonight’s show.
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 29, 2024
I take this very seriously and want to again apologize to @mehdirhasan and I hope he’ll join us another time. pic.twitter.com/O9l0Ftv5NZ
Phillip added in her own video that the network had not asked Hasan to leave the debate and that he was welcome to return in the future. Hasan was an anchor on MSNBC, which shares a parent company with NBC News, from 2021 to last January.
Girdusky appeared indignant on social media in the hours afterwards and said in a tweet "apparently you can't go on CNN if you make a joke."
You can stay on CNN if you falsely call every Republican a Nazi and have taken money from Qatar-funded media. Apparently you can't go on CNN if you make a joke. I'm glad America gets to see what CNN stands for.
— Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) October 29, 2024
NBC News has contacted both Hasan and Girdusky overnight for comment.
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