Mehdi Hasan Gripes He Hasn’t Been Invited Back to CNN a Year After He Was Target of ‘Racist’ Beeper Jab
Mehdi Hasan questioned this week whether he is “banned” from CNN after a tense on-air moment where a panelist joked about him being “killed.”
“A year ago today, a racist tried to make a ‘joke’ about me being killed by Israel,” Hasan wrote on X in response to the year-old clip.
On CNN’s NewsNight, right-wing commentator Ryan Girdusky told Hasan, “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” as Hasan expressed support for Palestinians. The comment from Girdusky followed an op by Israel where they planted explosives inside of beepers and walkie-talkies being used by the terror group Hezbollah.
“It was the 1st time I’ve ever walked off of live TV. That night CNN said they’d ban the racist from their air. But in the year since, I myself haven’t been invited back on CNN. So was I banned too? The victim of the abuse, alongside the abuser?” Hasan asked, tagging CNN.
CNN announced after Girdusky’s appearance that he would not be invited back.
“There was a line that was crossed there and it’s not acceptable to me,” anchor Abby Phillip said after Girdusky was removed from the show. “It’s not acceptable to us at this network. We want discussion. We want people who disagree with each other to talk to each other. But when you cross the line of a complete lack of civility, that is not going to happen here on this show.”
Girdusky doubled down on his “joke” in a message to Hasan after the Zeteo founder questioned whether he was banned from CNN, telling Hasan to “f*ck off.”
“It was a joke, unlike when you compared gay people to pedophiles and non-Muslims to animals,” he wrote. “You called Trump supporters far worse on air and I didn’t blink an eye, because I’m not a thirsty bitch crying on Twitter for the lowest rated network to have me on.”
