CNN has said it will no longer feature appearances from writer Ryan Girdusky, after he made a comment amid a chaotic and bad tempered panel discussion appearing to say he hoped that a Muslim journalist got blown up in a bomb attack.
“There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air,” the network said in a statement. “We aim to foster thoughtful conversations and debate including between people who profoundly disagree with each other in order to explore important issues and promote mutual understanding.
“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.”
The Independent has contacted Girdusky for comment.
The incident began during a panel on Monday, when Girdusky and fellow panelist Mehdi Hasan were discussing Donald Trump’s recent rally at Madison Square Garden and accusations that the Trump campaign is spreading Nazi-style ideas.
Girdusky began to make a comment about labels, and how Hasan, an outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights, is frequently branded an antisemite by his opponents.
Hasan, editor-in-chief of the news site Zeteo, said he’s used to the attack, given his vocal support for Palestinians.
“Yeah, well, I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” Girdusky then said.
The comment, in context, appears to be a reference to last month’s large-scale explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to alleged Hezbollah members, which killed 37 people and injured thousands, many of them civilians. Lebanese officials have blamed the attack on Israel, which denies responsibility for the explosions.
“Did you just say I should die?” Hasan responded.
The Independent has contacted Zeteo for comment. On X, Hasan reposted CNN’s condemnation of the comments.
During a heated exchange that followed, Hasan suggested Girdusky was inciting violence against him, and that CNN allowed a panelist to suggest “the Muslim guy should be blown up.”
On air, Girdusky claimed his comments came after he thought Hasan said he supported Hamas.
“You didn’t think I said Hamas,” Hasan said. “I said I’m a supporter of Palestinian rights,” adding, “At least have the guts to support your racist comment.”
After the show returned from commercial break with neither Girdusky nor Hasan, host Abby Phillip apologized to Hasan and viewers, calling the comments “completely unacceptable.”
“When we get this discussion started you’ll see that Ryan is not at the table,” she said. “There is a line that was crossed there and it’s not acceptable to me, it’s not acceptable to us at this network.”
“We can have conversations about what is happening in this country without resorting to the lowest of the low kind of discourse,” she said.
Other condemnations followed.
“CNN has played a central role in normalizing this kind of open anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian hate, and it’s sadly totally unsurprising to see such disgusting statements aired so casually on its network now,” congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is Muslim and Palestinian-American, wrote on X.
