Fox News bans Rudy Giuliani from appearing: report

Fox News has banned Rudy Giuliani and his son from appearing on its network, Politico Playbook reported on Friday.

Giuliani, who served as a personal attorney to former President Trump, has reportedly been banned for close to three months and only learned of the move by the news network right before Sept. 11, the news outlet reported. 

Prior to a scheduled appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Sept. 11, “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Pete Hegseth apparently called the former New York City mayor the night before and apologized, telling him he had been canceled from their guest list.

A source close to the former New York City mayor told Playbook that Giuliani was upset by the decision because he had “done a big favor” for Fox Corp. founder and Chairman Rupert Murdoch. 

“He was instrumental in getting Fox on Time Warner so it could be watched in New York City,” the source told Playbook.

A spokesperson for Fox denied Politico’s report that Giulani had been scheduled to appear on “Fox & Friends” on Sept. 11, but that person declined to comment on whether there was a ban for the former New York City mayor.

Additionally, Giuliani’s son, Andrew Giuliani, has also been reportedly banned, though it is unclear when that ban would have started. Since his New York gubernatorial campaign was initiated in May, Andrew Giuliani has not appeared on the network, Politico Playbook reported.

The news outlet reported that the Giulianis were told that the ban had come from the top of the network.

A Fox spokesperson disputed Politico Playbook’s reporting that Giulani’s son had been banned from the network, saying he had made multiple appearances on the network since announcing his gubernatorial run.

The Hill has reached out to Rudy Giuliani for comment.

The news comes as Giuliani, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell are each being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation for allegedly saying that Dominion’s machines manipulated votes for President Biden during the 2020 election. 

Requests to dismiss the lawsuits by all three were rejected by a judge last month.

This story was updated at 9:45 a.m.