When confronted with his prior comments declaring Republican Nikki Haley “past her prime,” Lemon apologized.
The morning show’s leading man has a history of making sexist comments that have upset his male co-hosts.
On Thursday, Lemon was also addressed by his fill-in host, Audie Cornish.
More and more people are demanding that CNN dismiss Don Lemon, the “clearly sexist” broadcaster who apologized for calling women over 40 “past their prime” yet was absent from Friday’s Morning Show.
After debating a proposal by Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, Lemon, then 56 years old, suggested on Thursday’s program that senators above the age of 75 should be subject to mental fitness tests.
Kaitlan Collins said on Friday that their controversial co-host “had the day off” after Poppy Harlow joked that she was going to “complain to employers” after attending the NBA all-star game in Utah.
To avoid having to address the complaints levied against Lemon the day before, the show decided to temporarily replace him with Audie Cornish.
The sources that DailyMail.com relied on to describe Lemon as “rude, self-righteous, and sexist” also said that “his apology meant nothing.”
Lemon called CNN staff on Friday morning to apologize again, saying he was sorry if his words came out “incorrect.”
CNN president Chris Licht reportedly feels forced to confront Lemon’s antics because this is not the first problem he has caused in recent weeks.
Licht allegedly called staff on Friday to warn them about the “inappropriate and unfair and a big distraction” comments.
According to a CNN executive, “this is terrific, but it’s our viewers who want an apology” about Lemon’s most contentious comment. Lemon’s response to the backlash, “I’m going to continue to be who I am,” further fueled the fire.
TMZ says he also thanked Dana Bash, Erin Burnett, Amy Entelis, his mom, and his sister.
An insider revealed that there is mounting pressure to fire Lemon due to his morning show’s constant stream of humiliating gaffes.
“Don has been treading water for so long, and many wanted him gone in December when he flipped out on Kaitlin Collins for no reason,” they told DailyMail.com. There was no context for her sobbing.
Irrelevant to his political leanings, his comments about Nikki Haley being beyond her prime were disrespectful. Poppy’s animosity against it persists to this day.
“He’s a jerk, a sexist, and a hypocrite. Nikki ought to have challenged him instead of letting him go free.
His apologies were meaningless in the face of the mounting calls for his dismissal. Weird if he isn’t.
One employee said that Lemon seemed to be congratulating himself on the back after admitting error, and the rest of the staff allegedly dubbed him “tone deaf” as a result of the chat.
After 90 seconds of talking, Lemon said, “I’m sorry, I don’t plan to damage anyone.” I apologize if I offended you in any way; please know that it was not my intention.
I wish I could take back what I said since it didn’t come out correctly. And I believe that women of any age can do everything they set their minds to. Here in New York, the bulk of my closest pals is female.
She said, “Sometimes I screw up.” This pair belongs to me and me alone. Understandably, you feel frustrated and upset, and I empathize completely.
To paraphrase, “I was arguing with Nikki Haley that age shouldn’t be used to define a person’s capacity to attain their goals or amount of desire.”
CNN did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com, although Lemon was not scheduled to appear on Thursday, so that’s something.
They called it “a unique joy.” The next day, we’ll have Audie in the office with us, Don will be out of the office, and Poppy will be reporting live from Salt Lake City.
When joking with Audie after his early morning words, Lemon said, “This is a hot seat; I hope you can handle it.” Two hours later, the news finally arrived.
Collins was ecstatic to post an Instagram photo of herself and her co-host for the day, Cornish, gushing over Cornish’s amazing qualities.
Harlow, Lemon, and Collins debated Haley’s notion during her speech on Wednesday when she officially announced her campaign for president.
For Haley (46), and Lemon (51), who is five years older, the peak years of a woman are the twenties, thirties, and even forties.
In a reaction to Lemon’s comments, Haley tweeted a video from the show with the caption, “It’s always the liberals that are the most sexist.”
According to a tweet by Lemon, “the remark I made to a woman in her prime this morning was inartful and irrelevant, and I regret it.” In this case, it was Thursday’s broadcast of Lemon’s show that contained the offending words.
Neither a woman’s nor her age has any influence on her professional or personal achievements. I am surrounded by incredible women who serve as models of this every day.
The New York Post reports that Harlow went off-set on Thursday after being so offended by the inappropriate banter that she couldn’t take it any longer.
Harlow and Kaitlan Collins’ relationship has been tumultuous for months, according to a source, and Collins allegedly followed Harlow into the lavatory during a “perfectly timed” break.
Although he first said it was “the wrong way to go down” on Thursday’s show, Lemon ended up discussing the importance of age in politics.
There was a rapid decline in the quality of “people” and “politicians,” she says. He opined, “Nikki Haley has seen better days.”
In today’s culture, a woman is considered to be in her “prime” during her twenties, thirties, and, if she’s lucky, her forties.
When Harlow said, “What are you talking about?” Lemon had just started to speak. How do you know if they’re ready to start working? Then Lemon interrupted, saying, “That’s not according to me.”
Lemon said, “That is debatable.” It can’t be improved upon in any manner. While looking it up online. Google “What is a lady in her prime?” and you’ll get a list of results that includes the ages 20–40.
This isn’t to say that I agree with it, though. Thus, I think she should be careful before making the statement, “You know, politicians are in their prime.”
Upon hearing this, Harlow questioned, “Are you talking about prime for, like, childbearing?” Maybe you mean “presidential ideal.”
Don’t kill the messenger, Lemon pleaded; “I’m just reporting the facts.” You may try looking it up on Google. When do women acquire sexual maturity? ask your other diners. The decades of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s are listed.
Politicians ought to give their all while they’re serving their country, therefore I don’t think Nikki Haley should make that assertion.
You may remark something like, “She wouldn’t be in her prime according to Google or whatever it is.”
Lemon kept the conversation solely with Harlow and avoided Collins.
Later on in the broadcast, when Lemon’s successor as CNN podcast presenter, Audie Cornish, appeared and questioned Lemon’s viewpoint, Lemon remained unwavering in his stance.
In the words of Cornish, “What you find when you search for “prime” online relates more to sexual and reproductive prime than it does to true mental health and aging.
Everyone agrees that Nikki Haley is shining brighter than ever right now.
Oh, I don’t know,” Lemon said.
Collins and another presenter got into an argument on December 8, and video of the incident shows the other host repeatedly cutting in on Collins.
As Lemon publicly criticized Collins in front of the TV crew and their other co-host, Collins allegedly departed the set in tears.
The White House Correspondent’s boss, Chris Licht, allegedly suggested he take a day off to ‘cool off’ following the event, but instead, after learning about it in the company newsletter, he blew off at his staff.
He seems to have taken this advice to heart in the aftermath of his “sexism controversy,” since he was mysteriously missing on Friday morning.
RadarOnline reports that during a show in December, Lemon went “ballistic” at the crew members who brought up the incident with Collins, claiming that she “interrupted him.”
Lemon and his partner Tim Malone headed to the Grammy Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles after their initial dispute.
They took out from New York for the Grammys in Los Angeles, where they basked in the sunshine and seemed to have forgotten about the drama back home.
Collins, at age 30, is the network’s youngest-ever chief White House reporter, and she supposedly intends to spend “as little time as possible” with the host in the days after the event.
Staff colleagues were “shaken” by Collins’ outburst on December 8 and described him as “visibly furious” during the incident that occurred off-camera.
Coworker anchor Poppy Harlow overheard the initially heated altercation between Collins and Lemon, and Agent Jay Sures represented both Collins and Lemon.
Collins and Lemon have been together on the show regularly since its inception three months ago.
They used to attend events and red carpets as a trio with Harlow, but now they seldom see each other and always show up separately.
Collins was reported as “bossy” and “difficult to deal with,” according to a source, and he may have purposely stopped Lemon.
Lemon hosted Don Lemon Tonight before Licht created the new morning show.
The new CEO of CNN, Licht, promised a makeover when he took over the company last year, but thus far, his efforts have proved fruitless.
Last evening, Eric Hall’s tenure as executive producer of CNN This Morning came to an end, and he was transferred to a new role. Hall was transferred to the network among numerous others.
Although his 10 p.m. show was canceled due to low ratings last year, Don Lemon first maintained that being shifted to mornings was not a “demotion.”
While a CNN spokesman asserted that “in barely three months, these anchors have built a riveting morning program that breaks news and drives the conversation,” they declined to provide any further details.
Collins has been working out of Washington, DC since the December incident, while Lemon has been stationed in Memphis and given additional responsibilities.
In December, Lemon blew his stack after a string of errors as he learned to share the spotlight with his new employees.
Because he argued that the US men’s soccer team deserved higher pay despite their lack of success, Collins and Harlow struck him down a week earlier, accusing him of mansplaining.
Despite the difficulty of the situation, he joked that males were “more exciting to watch.”
This month’s beginning witnessed CNN This Morning’s lowest audience week since the show’s premiere, with an average of only 330,000 people turning in each day.