Ken Jeong felt "disrespected" after Rudy Giuliani was revealed as a contestant on 'The Masked Singer'.
The 52-year-old actor - who is a qualified medical doctor - strongly disagrees with Giuliani's political views and those of former US President Donald Trump, who Giuliani works for as his personal attorney.
Ken stormed off the set of the show - where he is a judge - and his close pal and fellow judge Robin Thicke followed him to check if he was ok after the reveal.
A source told PEOPLE: "Ken felt disrespected and was livid to see Rudy was under the mask which is why he walked off. There's no way he could hide his feelings.
"Ken has been incredibly vocal about how the previous administration handled many things but especially COVID-19 and has found a lot of what they've said not only wrong but dangerous. To get someone who helped to spread misinformation and call into question the accuracy of our election and democracy to appear on his show was going to set him off."
Deadline first reported the incident, adding that fellow judges Jenny McCarthy and Nicole Scherzinger stayed and chatted with the ousted contestant.
Robin and Ken eventually returned to resume filming, though it is unclear how long they were off stage.
Giuliani has been involved in a number of controversies in recent years, and in 2021, federal agents raided his home and office during an investigation into his work in Ukraine.
His lawyer said afterwards: "Mr. Giuliani respects the law, and he can demonstrate that his conduct as a lawyer and a citizen was absolutely legal and ethical."
He was suspended from working as a lawyer New York last June after an appellate court said he made "demonstrably false and misleading statements" about Trump's 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
Rudy also made an infamous appearance in Sacha Baron Cohen's 'Borat Subsequent Moviefilm' but later denied any inappropriate behaviour and insisted a clip in which he appeared to put his hand down his pants while leaning back onto a bed near Maria Bakalova was a "complete fabrication".
