Rudy Giuliani called Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis a “ho” during remarks at a megachurch.
Last week’s comments sparked widespread backlash from Democrats who denounced the former lawyer and longtime ally of Donald Trump for being “misogynistic” toward Willis, who is prosecuting the former president for election interference.
Giuliani is one of eighteen co-defendants in Willis’ case against Trump.
But Willis found herself at the center of controversy in the middle of the trial after it emerged that she was in a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she hired for the case, Nathan Wade.
Speaking at the far-right ReAwaken America Tour at Grace Christian Church in Sterling Heights, Michigan on Friday, Giuliani fiercely attacked the pronunciation of Willis’ first name and called her the sexual slur.
Rudy Giuliani called Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis a “ho” during remarks at a Michigan megachurch on Friday and deliberately mispronounced her name
“I have two accusers – Fani The Ho,” Giuliani said in a video of the comments by reporter Stephanie Mencimer of the far-left Mother Jones newspaper.
After several seconds of laughter and applause from the presumably evangelical audience, the former New York mayor continued: “I’m sorry. Fani Willis.”
“Fani Willis,” he repeated, emphasizing the pronunciation of her name with a long “a.”
‘Now FANI is now Fani. And I don’t call her Fani,” he said, using the phonetic pronunciation of the prosecutor’s name “FAWN-E.”
“I could drop the ‘whoa’ part if she would just stop it and leave.” But for me, if you spell your name FANI, your “FAN-E,” you are not “FAWN-E,” he said.
The crowd seemed aroused by Giuliani’s attacks on Willis from the video posted to X on Saturday.
Former Congresswoman Donna Edwards said on MSNBC that Giuliani’s comments are part of “the continued dehumanization of Black women and I think Black women see that, I think all women see that for what it is.”
“It’s really disgusting,” she added.
“So Rudy Giuliani called Fani Willis a ‘ho’ at a right-wing Christian party,” Mother Jones DC bureau chief David Corn wrote on X when he reposted the video. “He seemed quite pleased with himself for this dual form of racism and misogyny.”
One account with lines of attack against Republicans wrote: “Turns out Giuliani is a racist and evangelicals aren’t very Christian at all.”
The ReAwaken America Tour is a conference that travels across the US and features conservative speakers who support Trump.
Willis found herself at the center of controversy in the middle of the trial after it emerged that she was in a romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she hired for the case.
Nathan Wade testified at the hearing to determine whether Willis should be removed from the case because of their relationship. Trump’s election interference case in Fulton County was stayed
In Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, Georgia, Trump is accused of interfering in the 2020 election and faces misdemeanor charges.
But last week, a Georgia appeals court stayed the trial of Trump’s four criminal charges to allow for a challenge related to Willis’ affair with Wade.
Oral arguments in the Georgia case were expected to take place in October, but they are already likely to be postponed until after November due to the case’s adjournment – meaning the trial and sentencing won’t happen until after the 2024 elections.
Meanwhile, in Manhattan, Trump was already found guilty of 34 criminal charges when the jury returned last month with the verdict in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case.