Billionaire WABC radio owner John Catsimatidis has stated that he has decided to terminate ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani due to his behavior. Giuliani’s suspension from the radio station came after he violated a memo not to discuss electronic voting machines or the accuracy of them during the 2020 election. Catsimatidis did not want his station to get involved in any defamation lawsuits. After Giuliani defied this directive, resulting in a suspension, he issued an ultimatum to double the hours of his show. Catsimatidis considered this to be the second strike against Giuliani.
The radio boss said that Giuliani’s behavior made it very difficult to bring him back to the station. Catsimatidis himself filled in for Giuliani’s scheduled show on Sunday, along with other hosts on the station. Giuliani had criticized his suspension during other media appearances, which led Catsimatidis to give him a third strike. Catsimatidis also mentioned that Giuliani’s sidekick, Maria Ryan, had received a 30-day notice for her departure from the show.
Giuliani accused Catsimatidis of trampling on the First Amendment’s free speech rights by silencing discussion of the 2020 presidential election. He claimed that stopping people from talking about the election was a violation of free speech. Catsimatidis, in response, mentioned that he was not aware that Giuliani had a paid gig with TV station Newsmax. He considered Giuliani’s criticism of him to be the final strike after multiple incidents of defiance and ultimatums issued by Giuliani.
After Giuliani’s suspension, references to his show were removed from the WABC website. Catsimatidis expressed his disappointment over the falling out with Giuliani, whom he initially hired despite criticism due to Giuliani’s legal troubles at the time. Catsimatidis believed Giuliani had been a great mayor and considered the situation to be sad. Attempts to reach Giuliani for comment were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.
Overall, the conflict between John Catsimatidis and Rudy Giuliani has escalated due to Giuliani’s defiance of station directives and ultimatums. Catsimatidis made the decision to terminate Giuliani after multiple incidents of disobedience, including discussing topics that were prohibited by a station-wide memo. Giuliani accused Catsimatidis of violating free speech by censoring discussion of the 2020 election. The fallout between the two has led to Giuliani’s suspension from the radio station, with his future at WABC remaining uncertain.
