CNN bans conservative analyst Girdusky over beeper joke

CNN on Monday banned conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky from ever returning after he made a comment the network deemed offensive.

During “CNN NewsNight With Abby Phillip,” Mr. Girdusky got into a heated argument with British journalist Mehdi Hasan. After Mr. Hasan expressed his support for Palestinians, Mr. Girdusky responded with, “Well, I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” referencing the thousands of pagers that exploded across Lebanon last month.

The panel then erupted, with guests accusing Mr. Girdusky of racism and Mr. Hasan saying it was a call for violence.

Mr. Girdusky quickly apologized after being challenged by Ms. Phillip, saying he thought Mr. Hasan said he supported Hamas.

After the show returned from a commercial break, Ms. Phillip apologized for Mr. Girdusky’s comments and said he wouldn’t be back.

“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,” Ms. Phillip said. “But when you cross the line of a complete lack of civility, that is not going to happen here on this show.”

CNN followed Ms. Phillip’s statement by confirming that Mr. Girdusky was done.

“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,” CNN said in a statement.

Mr. Girgusky on Tuesday brushed off the ban, claiming that CNN can’t take a joke.

“You can stay on CNN if you falsely call every Republican a Nazi and have taken money from Qatar-funded media,” Mr. Girgusky wrote on X. “Apparently you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke. I’m glad America gets to see what CNN stands for.”