CNN anchor John Berman made it clear Thursday that he was not impressed with FOX’s decision to bring former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in as a contestant on “The Masked Singer.”
Berman — along with co-anchor Brianna Keilar and reporter Chloe Melas — were discussing reports that, once Giuliani was unmasked, judges Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke walked off the stage in disgust.
“So this story will blow your mind. The subpoenaed disgraced former Mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani, whose actions contributed to not one but two impeachments, who vigorously and publicly worked to overturn an election, turned up as he contested on a game show, the Fox Show The Masked Singer, prompting two judges to storm off the set in protest,” Berman said as he introduced the story.
As People reported on Wednesday:
During last week’s taping of the Fox series’ Season 7 premiere, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was unmasked as one of the contestants, Deadline and TMZ report.
Following the reveal, Jeong, 52, and Thicke, 44, both walked off the stage in protest of Donald Trump’s former attorney, according to the outlets. Fellow judges Jenny McCarthy and Nicole Scherzinger reportedly remained on stage after the reveal, where they briefly chatted with Giuliani.
Jeong and Thicke later made their return to the stage, though it is unclear how long they were gone, according to Deadline.
“The other judges, Jenny McCarthy and Nicole Scherzinger, they sat there, and then they did interact with Rudy,” Melas reported. “It’s a shock that he was even on this episode, but they say the good and the bad is the theme of the season.”
“Do you think the producers Chloe were going for shock value or are they just kind of ignorant to the kind of person that they were putting on?” Keilar asked, and Melas said she thought it probably was primarily done for ‘shock value.'”
Melas went on to say that Giuliani was “the most controversial person that’s ever been on the show.”
Berman jumped in then, comparing Giuliani to disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and Nicaraguan dictator Manuel Noriega, appearing to suggest that adding them as contestants would be no worse than allowing Giuliani on the stage.
WATCH:
CNN's John Berman Compares Rudy Giuliani to Harvey Weinstein in Disgusted Rant About Masked Singer Stunt https://t.co/BLKZOvNPZ9 via @mediaite pic.twitter.com/XQoFUxoteX
— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) February 3, 2022
“You know, next week on ‘The Masked Singer’: Harvey Weinstein. The week after that: Manuel Noriega. Great job, guys. Great job. I hope the viewers that you’re attracting here are worth it to you,” Berman said.
Berman went on to read a tweet he said summed up his thoughts on the matter, saying, “The bare minimum — the absolute bottom-level for the bar we set as a society — must be: if you try to launch a coup and overturn a Presidential election, you are no longer allowed on game shows.”
The bare minimum — the absolute bottom-level for the bar we set as a society — must be: if you try to launch a coup and overturn a Presidential election, you are no longer allowed on game shows.
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) February 3, 2022
“I know everyone gets a chuckle out of this,” Berman said, shaking his head and adding, “But we can all do better than that.”