A Conservative commentator who was banned from CNN after likening a Muslim guest to a terrorist has revealed what happened after the cameras cut.
Ryan Girdusky was banned from the broadcaster on Monday night after telling journalist Medhi Hasan, ‘I hope your beeper doesn’t go off’ – a reference to Israel blowing up Hezbollah terrorists and killing 32.
Writing on his Substack after, Girdusky revealed that ‘all hell broke loose’, and he was asked to stop speaking by Phillip.
He adds that Medhi then ‘stormed’ off the set after the program cut to a commercial break before he was advised by Phillip that he should leave.
Ryan Girdusky, right, was banned from the broadcaster on Monday night after making the racist remark towards British-American broadcaster Medhi Hasan, left
‘Abby asked me to step off-set, and I couldn’t do what I just did. I said, “Okay.” They unhooked my microphone, and I apologized to the producer’, he wrote.
He described then texting the person who had organized him being on the show, and said within minutes of leaving he had been contacted by ‘plenty of liberals’.
Guests on the show, hosted by Abby Phillip, had been discussing racist jokes made during former President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.
In a post to his own newsletter, Girdusky, founder of the 1776 Project PAC, has now revealed what happened after the cameras cut.
Guests on the show, hosted by Abby Phillip, had been discussing racist jokes made during former President Donald Trump ‘s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday
He hit out at Hasan who he claimed had ‘been called an anti-Semite more than anyone at this table’ for his commentary on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Hasan mentioned that he was supportive of Palestinian rights and not Hamas, which prompted the beeper comment.
Concerning the remark, he wrote: ‘It was all bulls***, I just made a quick joke’ claiming he thought he heard Hasan say Hamas instead of Palestine.’
Hasan accused him of calling for him to be killed over the comment, saying: ‘Did you say I should die? You just said I should be killed.’
Girdusky continued: ‘I apologize for hearing the wrong thing; in the heat of the moment, I didn’t hear him correctly.’
Hasan mentioned that he was supportive of Palestinian rights and not Hamas, which prompted the beeper comment
Girdusky wrote that his parents had received threats over his comments, but described himself as being ‘fine’.
He added: ‘I never strived to be someone on TV. I just don’t care that much. People always talk about a brand, and I guess that’s mine; I really don’t give a shit’
After the interaction CNN issued a statement banning him from the network and Phillip published a video apology to Medhi.
Ryan Girdusky founded the 1776 Project PAC in 2021
He continued: ‘This is a man who referred to me as a Nazi just seconds before and then said I’ve been calling him an anti-Semite, even though I had never heard of him till yesterday.
‘It was like so many other segments I had on CNN, double standards galore, where I was expected to take it, and liberal guests would be able to get away with just about whatever they wanted.’
Closing his explanation, he said the exchange was an example of ‘why no one trusts the media anymore, especially not liberal news networks’.
He claimed their programming was not about ‘facts or equal footing’ but ‘promoting a narrative’.
‘People who opposed that narrative were expected to be a punching bag. Screw that.’, he added.
Girdusky added: ‘I’m not a victim; I said what I said. I own it. Some people liked it; some people hated it. I don’t care. No one will remember it in a moment.
‘That’s the way the news media works; it tries to feed outrage, fear, and anxiety to its dwindling audience in order to keep the lights on. I was just one more chink in the outrage machine’s chain.
‘So if you’re ever canceled from a cable news network, remember, everyone forgets after a few days. It’s not as important as telling the truth and occasionally a joke.’
Hasan, seen here last August in New York City, has yet to publicly comment on it but has reposted comments by fellow guest Ashley Allison and Abby Phillip to his social media
Following the commercial break, Phillip extended an apology to Hasan and to those watching.
She said: ‘I want to apologize to Mehdi Hasan for what was said at this table. It was completely unacceptable when we get this discussion started, you’ll see that Ryan is not at the table.
‘There is a line that was crossed there and it’s not acceptable to me. It’s not acceptable to us at this network.’
The broadcaster said in a statement: ‘There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air.
‘We aim to foster thoughtful conversation 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.’
Hasan has yet to publicly comment on it but has reposted comments by fellow guest Ashley Allison and Abby Phillip to his social media.
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