Body Language Expert Notices What Poppy Harlow Did with Her Fingers on Don Lemon's First Day Back
Judging by his co-host’s reaction, Don Lemon’s return to TV didn’t go so well.
That was the opinion of body language expert Judi James, who told the Page Six on Wednesday that it was clear Lemon was the source of tension on the set of “CNN This Morning.”
And a big clue was at co-host Poppy Harlow’s fingertips — literally.
James, who has been a source for media outlets on the behavior of public figures like Russian President Vladimir Putin and the British royal family, told the outlet that Harlow was sending off silent signals that her boorish co-worker was making things uncomfortable.
‘Underlying tension’ between Poppy Harlow, Don Lemon: body language expert https://t.co/BcERyxyuZH pic.twitter.com/TPo7eo26kZ
— Page Six (@PageSix) February 22, 2023
Harlow “finger-fiddled, suggesting tension,” James said.
“At one point, she listened with one finger up the side of her face in what can look like an evaluation gesture, while her raised foot tapped. This is a metronomic gesture that can suggest impatience or possible irritation.”
Now, what possible reason could Harlow have for impatience or “possible” irritation with the perennially irritating and patience-trying Don Lemon?
He’s the CNN personality, after all, who just last week managed to insult former U.N. ambassador and current GOP presidential contender Nikki Haley — along with roughly half of the human race — when he opined that 51-year-old Haley is past her “prime.”
A woman is in her prime, Lemon said on last Thursday’s show, “in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
It’s hard to tell which was worse, the fact that he said it at all, or that he said it directly to Harlow, a woman who at 40 is on the edge of obsolescence, according to Lemon.
(The fact that he cited “Google” as his authority didn’t help much either.)
Lemon issued a pro-forma apology on Twitter on the afternoon of Feb. 16 (omitting to mention Haley by name) then was off the air on Friday on what CNN said was a preplanned holiday.
He was off the air again Monday and Tuesday in what was evidently a disciplinary measure, with his return to the air contingent on his undergoing “formal training” — apparently in how not to to be an arrogant misogynist.
But, according to James’ judgment, at least one of Lemon’s colleagues was showing signs of skepticism.
Harlow displayed a “barriered pose with her arms folded as Don talked,” James told Page Six.
“Later she sat at the desk with one arm around her waist in a partial barrier, while the other raised her pen to her mouth, so she can chew the end of it,” James said. “This is often a self-comfort ritual that can again hint at inner tension.”
It’s important to note that the mood didn’t last forever. James said Harlow seemed to lighten up.
“We get a complete change of mood later when the pair were seen laughing and smiling together, using eye contact and friendly smiles — and Poppy even leaned to place a hand on Don’s arm in what seemed to be intended as a bonding ritual,” James told the outlet.
Don Lemon looks ‘friendly, more relaxed’ in CNN return: body language expert https://t.co/c6Bh4daw3K pic.twitter.com/4ROCQnkcZA
— Page Six (@PageSix) February 23, 2023
Well, it’s not easy staying frosty forever — and doing it continuously in front of television cameras on what’s supposed to be a chummy morning talk show probably takes more effort than normal people would like to expend.
But it’s a good chance the future relationship between Lemon and Harlow — as well as between Lemon and co-host Kaitlan Collins — is going to look more like the “barriered pose” and “possible irritation” than sunshine and smiles.
This is Don Lemon, after all. Since getting demoted from his primetime solo show, he’s already established a pattern of being rude to his morning show co-hosts, not to mention being an irritating figure in general — even without his inane leftist politics.
He’s back on “CNN This Morning” for now, but given the show’s abysmal ratings and public discord with his co-hosts, how long his return lasts remains to be seen.
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