CNN has apologized to viewers after a panelist on its Newsnight show made derogatory remarks suggesting that broadcaster Mehdi Hasan, a guest on the show, was a terrorist.
Conservative commentator Ryan James Gardusky criticized Hassan, a U.S. columnist for The Guardian and former MSNBC host who is Muslim, in apparent reference to Israel’s targeting of Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. “I hope the buzzer doesn’t go off,” he said. Last month, my pager exploded. The simultaneous explosions killed 12 people and injured thousands.
“Did the guest just say you should kill me on live TV?” Hasan asked the show’s anchor, Abby Phillippe.
After a commercial break, Phillip apologized on-air to Hasan and the viewers, stating that Gardusky had been removed from the show.
“I would like to apologize to Mehdi Hasan for what was said at this table. It was completely unacceptable,” she said. “We would like to apologize to the viewers at home.”
Philip: I would like to apologize to Mehdi Hassan for what was said at this table. Once we started this discussion, it was completely unacceptable. I see that Ryan is not at the table…I would like to apologize to the viewers at home. pic.twitter.com/wyPaStHUex
— Asyn (@Acyn) October 29, 2024CNN later said in a statement that “racism and bigotry have no place on CNN or our broadcasts” and that Gardusky “will not be welcome back on our network.” Mr. Hasan retweeted the statement regarding X.
At the beginning of the heated exchange between the two, Hassan said that far-right people “if you don’t want to be called a Nazi, stop doing and saying nothing.” Mr. Gardusky interjected that Mr. Hassan has been called “as anti-Semitic as anyone at this table.”
After Mr. Hassan said he was used to being labeled an anti-Semite for his support for the Palestinian people, Mr. Gardasky said, “Well, I hope the buzzer doesn’t go off.” He attempted to apologize during the chat and tried to justify his comments by saying he believed Hassan had said he supported Hamas.
However, in later posts about X, Gardusky appears to have stepped up his more adversarial approach. “You can stay on CNN if you falsely call all Republicans Nazis and take money from Qatar-funded media,” he said. “Apparently, you can’t get on CNN if you tell a joke. I’m glad America can see what CNN stands for.”
