Don Lemon to Return to CNN Show but Not Without Undergoing 'Formal Training,' Boss Says - Report
CNN anchor Don Lemon has been cleared to return to his morning show on the condition he undergoes training, according to a report Monday night.
Lemon has been absent from the “CNN This Morning” desk since Thursday, when he made sexist comments about women during an attack on GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Fox News reported he will return to the show on Wednesday on the condition he participates in special training.
The network said it obtained a memo CNN CEO Chris Licht sent to his employees Monday night.
“I sat down with Don and had a frank and meaningful conversation. He has agreed to participate in formal training, as well as continuing to listen and learn. We take this situation very seriously,” Licht said, according to Fox News.
“It is important to me that CNN balances accountability with [fostering] a culture in which people can own, learn and grow from their mistakes,” he said. “To that end, Don will return to CNN This Morning on Wednesday.”
The announcement followed numerous reports that Lemon could be on the outs after he resorted to insulting women over a certain age while he took on Haley last week.
As Haley, 51, announced her candidacy for the GOP nomination in 2024, she called for a new generation to lead the country.
The former South Carolina governor also called for “competency” tests for politicians over the age of 75, which includes President Joe Biden (80) and former President Donald Trump (76), who also is running for the Republican nomination.
Lemon responded by attacking Haley, who he said was out of her “prime.” The 56-year-old CNN host cited a Google search as evidence.
“This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable,” he said. “I think it’s the wrong road to go down.”
“She says people, you know, politicians or something are not in their prime,” Lemon continued. “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.”
Lemon asked his female co-anchors, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, not to “shoot the messenger.”
“That’s not according to me,” he said. “If you Google ‘when is a woman in her prime,’ it’ll say 20s, 30s and 40s. I’m not saying I agree with it.”
Liberals can’t stand the idea of having competency tests for older politicians to make sure they can do the job.
BTW it’s always the liberals who are the most sexist. pic.twitter.com/PzpniQFLff
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 16, 2023
Collins and Harlow were reportedly upset by the remarks.
According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, other female CNN staffers are still angry at Lemon and want him fired.
It reported that one woman said, “If Don doesn’t go, we will!”
Another person described as close to CNN predicted the controversy that has enveloped Lemon is not going to simply dissipate.
“People are hurt by his actions and are not going to let this go,” the source said, according to the Daily Mail. “It is like every woman over 50 in America has taken this as a personal insult. The female staffers at CNN definitely have. He needs to make his vacation a permanent one.”
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