Don Lemon has apologized on CNN’s morning editorial call after making offensive remarks relating to gender.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I did not mean to offend anyone,” Lemon said on the call. “What I said came out wrong and I wish I hadn’t said it. I believe women of any age can do anything they set their minds to. The people I am closest to in this organization are women.”
CNN CEO Chris Licht, who was in the control room of CNN This Morning and on set Friday, addressed the controversy at the top of the daily call, saying the remarks were “upsetting, unacceptable, and unfair to his co-hosts, and ultimately a huge distraction to the great work of this organization.”
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Lemon bizarrely suggested on the show Thursday morning that GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley wasn’t in her “prime” and, therefore, should be careful when using that word to judge other politicians.
“When I make a mistake, I own it, and I own this one as well. I understand why you are upset and disappointed,” Lemon said.
“I was trying to make the point that no one’s age should define their ambition or potential for success and I was saying those comments to Nikki Haley.”
Lemon irked several female colleagues by saying, “I’m going to continue to be who I am.”
“This is great, but it’s our viewers who deserve an apology,” one senior CNN staffer said following the call.
The mea culpa to CNN staff came after Lemon, who did not appear on CNN This Morning on Friday as he had a scheduled day off and was photographed in Miami with his husband, issued a public apology on Twitter for his remarks.
“The reference I made to a woman’s ‘prime’ this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it,” Lemon tweeted. “A woman’s age doesn't define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day.”
Discussing Haley’s recent announcement that she’s throwing her hat in the 2024 White House race, Lemon along with his co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins noted that the former South Carolina governor had called for “mandatory mental competency tests” for politicians older than 75.
“This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable,” Lemon said. “I think it’s the wrong road to go down. She says people, you know, politicians are suddenly not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry, when a woman is in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
The comments clearly annoyed Harlow who asked Lemon to clarify what he was saying.
“Are you talking about prime for, like, childbearing? Or are you talking about prime for being president?” Harlow said.
“Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just saying what the facts are,” Lemon insisted. “Google it. Everybody at home, when is a woman in her prime? It says 20s, 30s and 40s. I’m just saying Nikki Haley should careful about saying that politicians are not in their prime, and they need to be in their prime when they serve. She would not be in her prime according to Google, or whatever it is.”
Haley reacted to Lemon’s remarks Thursday morning, tweeting that “liberals can’t stand the idea of having competency tests for older politicians to make sure they can do the job,” while claiming “it’s always the liberals who are the most sexist.”
