Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has been absent from his regular appearances on Fox News, prompting some confusion but the network does not want to confirm if it has banned him or not.

On Friday, Politico’s Playbook reported that Giuliani has been experiencing a three-month hiatus from conservative favorite Fox News’ programs. The last time Giuliani appeared on a Fox show was three months ago, but since then he has been absent from the airwaves.

It was reported that Giuliani was scheduled to appear on “Fox & Friends” on Sept. 11 for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. However, Politico reports that “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Pete Hegseth apparently called the former New York City mayor the night before and apologized because he had been canceled from their guest list.

A source close to Giuliani said that he did not take the news well and that he felt it was a personal betrayal from FoxCorp founder Rupert Murdoch to not allow him on the network. Reportedly Giuliani complained that he did a “big favor” for Murdoch when Fox News began in the 1990s by pushing Time Warner to let it air in New York City.

Giuliani was something of a network favorite and has been a frequent guest over the years even before taking on his last high-profile role as former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney.

A spokesman for Fox News denied to The Hill the content of Politico’s reporting but declined to say if he was banned from appearing at all.

The ban also appears to have extended to Giuliani’s son, Andrew, who is running for governor of New York. Like his father, Andrew has struggled to get appearances on Fox for months.

The younger Giuliani has fretted that Fox has allowed his chief GOP rival, Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., to speak on air but has not responded to his campaign’s requests for a slot. A Fox spokesman denied that Andrew was banned, pointing to appearances made after announcing his gubernatorial bid in May.

Why the Giulianis are banned remains unknown, but a series of lawsuits against the former mayor could offer some clues.

In 2018, Rudy Giuliani admitted in a deposition to the FBI that he threw a “fake” in remarks made on Fox News in 2016 when he claimed advance knowledge of a reopening of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

Separately, Fox and Giuliani are both being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation for claims made about the company after the 2020 presidential election. The company was accused of purposely rigging votes for President Joe Biden over former President Donald Trump.

Both have tried and failed to get the lawsuit dismissed in federal court. Giuliani has not backed down from his claims against Dominion and even has admitted to not knowing how their technology works.

RELATED STORIES
Rupert murdoch