Don Lemon was notably absent from his historically low-rated CNN morning show Friday, a day after his chauvinist rant against women over the age of 50 reportedly angered one of his two female co-hosts.
Is there trouble brewing for the far-left activist and “CNN This Morning?” Is Lemon about to get fired?
I honestly hope not. Watching the drama at CNN’s least-watched morning show in almost a decade is simply too entertaining.
The schadenfreude is real, and I have tuned in all week to enjoy watching the dumpster fire smolder in real time.
But as far as deeper trouble for the show, let’s start off with what we know.
Lemon lost his primetime gig last year when new CNN CEO Chris Licht assigned him to the morning show. He shares a desk now with co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.
The trio has no chemistry, and behind the scenes, according to numerous reports, the hosts are divided and positioned as Harlow and Collins versus Lemon, who views them as his “backup dancers.”
Not only has the former host of “Don Lemon Tonight” had some very awkward on-air moments, but several of them could be categorized as downright demeaning. It’s even worse behind the scenes, according to Radar Online.
The show’s reported troubles are generating more buzz than the show itself — which laughably has not helped it compete against its rivals at Fox News and MSNBC.
We might not have seen “CNN This Morning” hit rock bottom yet, but it did arrive at a new low Thursday when Lemon cited Google as evidence women are well out of their respective primes by the age of 50.
As he critiqued 51-year-old GOP presidential contender Nikki Haley for commenting on the age of some of the country’s top leaders, Lemon issued a blanket statement about women.
“She says people, you know, politicians or something are not in their prime,” he said. “Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry. When a woman is considered to be in her prime — in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
The dimwitted host added, “That’s not according to me. … If you Google ‘when is a woman in her prime,’ it’ll say 20s, 30s and 40s. … I’m not saying I agree with that.”
Don Lemon: “Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry, when a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, and 30s, and maybe 40s…”
Poppy Harlow: “Are you talking about prime for like child bearing?”
“Don’t shoot the messenger! I’m just saying what the facts are! Google it!” pic.twitter.com/n1HmtkWTpl
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 16, 2023
Predictably, the comment saw Lemon savaged online.
The New York Post later reported Harlow was so upset she went to the restroom after an exchange with Lemon, and Collins joined her.
Sources told the newspaper Lemon and Licht spoke several times throughout Thursday after the drama. CNN did not confirm the reporting.
It is not clear what was discussed, but a source told the Post that Licht also met with roughly 30 staffers after Lemon’s overt display of sexism.
The source paraphrased the boss, indicating he said something along the lines of, “People say stupid things and that if it’s a trend, then there’s recourse.”
It is not clear if there will be recourse for Lemon. Perhaps Friday was exactly that. He was gone from his seat as the show opened – as was Harlow, who was reporting from Utah for the NBA All-Star Game.
Collins sat at the “CNN This Morning” desk alongside fill-in host Audie Cornish.
After an upbeat introduction, she explained Lemon’s absence rather succinctly.
“Don has the day off,” she said.
“Don has the day off.”
pic.twitter.com/ovVLRERCQU— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 17, 2023
It is not known when, or if, the host will return, or even if his absence was related to his comments Thursday.
But there definitely appears to be trouble brewing – and I, for one, don’t want to miss a second of it.
After watching CNN and Lemon dehumanize conservatives for the better part of the past decade, the network’s headaches are more entertaining than scripted drama.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
