Monday 16 May 2022 08:31 PM Fox boss says he has 'absolutely no regrets' about casting Rudy Giuliani on ... trends now Fox's top boss stands by the decision to cast former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on the network's The Masked Singer earlier this year - an appearance that sent America's left into a frenzy. 'No regrets,' Rob Wade, the network’s president of alternative entertainment and specials, told reporters during a conference call Monday morning - adding the only qualm he had about the appearance was that 'the reveal was spoiled [by the press].' 'Yeah, absolutely no regrets,' Wade went on. 'The marketing is all about delivering jaw dropping moments, which is exactly what the casting accomplished.' The unmasking of GOP stalwart Giuliani, 77, came during a February taping of the program, which sees celebrities perform in costume for a panel of judges who are seemingly unaware of their identities. The performance - which did not air until April - promptly caused a stir of among the show's judges due to Giuliani's ties to former President Donald Trump, with comedian Ken Jeong leaving the stage once the republican's face was revealed. Word of the taping quickly spread, with Deadline reporting on the incident in early February, spoiling viewers' surprise in process - something Wade noted during the call. 'Kudos to you guys [for breaking the story],' said Wade, the brain behind shows such as ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. The exec then joked: 'Just please - don’t do it again.' Fox brass has said the network stands by its decision to cast Rudy Giuliani on the network's The Masked Singer earlier this year - an appearance that sent America's left into a frenzy Fox Entertainment President Rob Wade - pictured here in April with shows judge Ken Jeong, who walked off in disgust after Giuliani's reveal - said he has 'no regrets' over the appearance In February, before the episode aired, Deadline wrote that two of the show's celebrity judges had walked off the set in disgust after Giuliani - who earned the ire of Democrats in 2020 after claiming the election was stolen - was revealed as the contestant. When the episode aired in late April, however, Jeong was the only one to storm off. 'I’m done,' the Asian-American star, best known for his turn in 2009's The Hangover, said, as Giuliani gave an animated rendition of George Thorogood & The Destroyers' Bad to the Bone. Thicke, meanwhile, was not shown leaving the set, but was suspiciously absent from the judges table when the camera panned to it during Giuliani's farewell performance. Other judges Nicole Scherzinger and Jenny McCarthy stayed and cheered him on, dancing as the politico belted out an off-key chorus. Afterwards, McCarthy thanked Giuliani for appearing on the show, telling him she was 'so glad' he appeared. He said he decided to appear on the program to impress his granddaughter. The appearance saw Giuliani was dressed up as a Jack in the Box. Wade, the brain behind shows such as ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, said of the network's choice to cast GOP member Giuliani: 'The marketing is all about delivering jaw dropping moments, which is exactly what the casting accomplished' The performance - which saw the former New York mayor dress up as a Jack in the Box - caused a stir of among the show's judges and the general public, due to Giuliani's ties to Donald Trump Social media users were quick to criticize the network as well as Scherzinger and McCarthy for their reaction to the unmasking of Giuliani, due to his highly publicized claims during the 2020 election. 'The Masked Singer had the audacity to put felonious traitor Rudy Giuliani on air even though on air even though he's under a major federal criminal investigation,' singer Ricky Davila wrote at the time. 'It was so bad that Ken Jeong and yes even Robin Thicke walked out and off the set in protest. When you lose Robin Thicke, that's bad.' Nashville Mayor Jon Cooper, formerly the finance chair of Joe Biden's ill-fated Draft Biden 2016 election group, tweeted: 'What moron decided it was a good idea to have Rudy Giuliani appear as a contestant on The Masked Singer?' Liberal political Jeff Tiedrich said: I've done a lot of stupid s**t in my life but I never put Rudy Giuliani on a game show.' Satirical political protest group The USA Singers also lambasted Fox's decision to have Giuliani on the show. 'Who the f*** thought it was a good idea to put a creepy, disgusting, drunken, lecherous, Nosferatu-looking, cousin-marrying, COVID-farting, cheap hair dye-sweating, hands down the pantsing, lying, cheating, clinically insane, racist traitor goon like Rudy Giuliani on a gameshow?' 'If you thought the new episode of The Masked Singer with Rudy Giuliani was bad, in episode two Vladimir Putin is unmasked and all the judges are poisoned with polonium,' another lefty political commentator wrote. 'We simply cannot bring mammoths back into a world where Rudy Giuliani was pretending to be a sexy Marilyn Monroe ice cream cone on a signing show,' @vinn_ayy tweeted. A user also remarked that Giuliani during his appearance resembled the cartoon character Simon Bar Sinister from the animated series Underdog. A cartoon published by Deadline poked fun at the incident, picturing Giuliani on stage in KKK garb as his costume. 'It's kind of obvious, in hindsight,' a cartoon Jeong says in the comic, standing next to an animated version of Thicke. Another observer wrote: 'We really have failed as a society.' Social media users were quick to criticize the network for airing Giuliani on the program, due to his highly publicized claims during the 2020 election A slew of woke celebrities also expressed their disdain over the decision. 'Whoopi suspended for two weeks and Giuliani on the Masked Singer. Everything makes sense. I feel safe. I feel protected. I feel loved,' comedian Billy Eichner tweeted, reverencing the controversy surrounding Goldberg who was suspended from her position from The View in light of her comments about the Holocaust. Two and a Half Men actor Jon Cryer, meanwhile, tweeted that network brass' call to have the politician on the program served as an endorsement for the January 6 attacks on the nation's Capitol. 'Rudy Giuliani is as responsible for the violent attack on our Capitol as our disgraced former president,' he wrote. 'Lives were lost. Over a hundred injured. It's disgusting to have him on the Masked Singer.' Celebrities such as Jon Cryer and Billy Eichner also responded to the controversy Others, meanwhile, stood behind the performance, with some pointing out Thick'es own sex scandal, which saw model Emily Ratajkowski accuse the singer of sexually assaulting her on a music video set for the controversial 2013 hit Blurred Lines. 'I find it hard to believe that Robin Thicke and Ken Jeong didn't already know it was Rudy Giuliani behind the mask. Not that Giuliani doesn't deserve to be protested for his rolls in an impeachment and the big lie, but I think this was nothing more than a publicity stunt. IMHO,' @OnePardon tweeted. 'Lefty's Ken Jeong, who isn't even funny just weird..and One hit Wonder Robin Thicke had the audaaacity to walk off that boring show The Masked Singer as soon as one of the contestants was revealed to be @RudyGiuliani All Lefty's know how to do is REEEEEE,' @Tammy95741863 tweeted. 'Like Robin Thicke is one to talk about morals. Go grope some more women buddy,' @JohnBetz tweeted. Others, meanwhile, stood behind the performance, with some pointing out Thick'es own sex scandal, which saw model Emily Ratajkowski accuse the singer of sexually assaulting her on a music video set for the controversial 2013 hit Blurred Lines After his contentious comments concerning the election in 2020, Giuliani was suspended from practicing law in New York, with a court declaring he had made 'demonstrably false' statements about Trump’s 2020 election loss by claiming the election was 'stolen.' Wade, however, who formerly served as the executive producer of FOX's hit The X Factor, seemed undeterred by the criticism he and the network has received in the wake of Giuliani's appearance on Monday's call. He and Jeong were pictured together at an event in April, smiling and posing for a photo at a cancer fundraiser in LA just days after the episode aired. 'The Masked Singer' has since been renewed for an eighth season. 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