Giuliani ridiculed for advertising on Cameo and charging ‘half of Draco Malfoy’s’ fees

Rudy Giuliani is being mocked for taking to Cameo to try to raise funds for his legal battles.

CNN host John Berman poured scorn on the former New York mayor for charging $275 to send personalised messages through the app, noting it was less than half than some actors.

“Draco Malfoy is nearly $600, so poor Rudy Giuliani, longtime mayor of New York City, you can get for less than half of Draco Malfoy, who by the way didn’t kill Dumbledore, he only disarmed him,” Mr Berman said, referring to the Harry Potter villain portrayed by actor Tom Felton.

“Rudy Giuliani getting half of Draco Malfoy. I think that’s a statement on society,” the CNN anchor added.

Cameo launched five years ago and allows fans to connect with actors, athletes and other celebrities, who respond to requests for birthday, congratulatory and other personal messages.

Mr Giuliani opened his Cameo account a few days ago, initially charging $199.

In April, Mr Giuliani’s Upper East Side home and Park Ave office were raided by the FBI as part of a Department of Justice criminal probe into his dealings in Ukraine.

Investigators seized cellphones and computers as part of a probe into whether he broke foreign lobbying laws.

Mr Giuliani is also being sued in a $1.3 billion dollar lawsuit by Dominion Voting Machines for alleged defamatory statements he made about the 2020 election and the company’s technology.

His legal jeopardy arises from his efforts to help former President Donald Trump remain in power by digging up dirt on his opponent and questioning the legitimacy of the election results.

But Mr Trump has reportedly refused to use any of his $250 million war chest to help Mr Giuliani, his former personal attorney.

“This does reflect the financial straights that he’s in, this dire situation,” CNN reporter Kara Scannel said, commenting on his Cameo move.

As of Wednesday, Mr Giuliani had received three five star reviews.

Other stars in a similar price bracket to Mr Giuliani on the site included shock rock musician Alice Cooper, who charges $300; and Cedric the Entertainer, who will send fans a personalised shoutout for $250.

In July, Mr Giuliani was suspended from practising law in New York for “demonstrably false and misleading statements” that “directly inflamed” violence on 6 January.

The Daily Beast reported this week that Mr Giuliani’s requests for financial assistance had been ignored by the Trump team.

“This is the Trump modus operandi,” Mr Trump’s onetime lawyer Michael Cohen told Business Insider.

“I predicted that this would happen and mockingly welcomed Rudy to the under the bus club. It might be time for Rudy to unleash some of the insurance he claimed to have months ago on Trump and others to avoid a lengthy jail sentence.”