CNN anchor Don Lemon returned to the airwaves on Wednesday morning, six days after sparking a full-blown political scandal over sexist comments he made about GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley not being in her “prime” because she’s no longer in her “20s and 30s.”
Moments before taking to the air following a multi-day benching, Lemon took to Twitter to once again apologize for the commotion he had caused with his remarks.
“I appreciate the opportunity to be back on @CNNThisMorning today,” he posted. “To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience—I’m sorry. I’ve heard you, I’m learning from you, and I’m committed to doing better. See you soon.”
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Lemon, however, did not immediately address the controversy when CNN This Morning kicked off its three-hour broadcast on Wednesday. With co-host Kaitlan Collins reporting from Poland, Lemon sat across from fellow anchor Poppy Harlow, who looked him straight in the eye as the show started.
“What a day,” she said after running down the day’s big headlines at the top of the show.
Throughout the remainder of the program, neither Lemon nor his colleagues would make any reference to the misogynistic comments that had kept him off the air this week, leaving his Wednesday morning tweet as the final word on the situation.
During last Thursday’s broadcast of CNN This Morning, Lemon drew the ire of his female colleagues during a discussion about Haley recently calling for “mandatory mental competency tests” for politicians older than 75. With the 51-year-old Haley also declaring that “America is not past our prime—it’s just that our politicians are past theirs,” Lemon argued that the former South Carolina governor should be careful when criticizing her political rivals’ ages.
“Google it. Everybody at home, when is a woman in her prime? It says 20s, 30s and 40s,” the 56-year-old anchor exclaimed. “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.”
Besides making his co-hosts noticeably uncomfortable, Lemon’s remarks quickly sparked widespread backlash across the political spectrum, prompting the longtime network star to tweet out an apology later that day.
“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 on Thursday afternoon. “A woman’s age doesn't define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day.”
In an attempt at further damage control, Lemon would then be forced to give a groveling apology to CNN staff during the network’s editorial call the following morning. Addressing the controversy at the top of the call, CNN CEO Chris Licht said Lemon’s comments were “upsetting, unacceptable, and unfair to his co-hosts, and ultimately a huge distraction to the great work of this organization.”
While Lemon said he understood staffers were “upset and disappointed,” he insisted he was merely “trying to make the point that no one’s age should define their ambition or potential for success.” He also irked several women colleagues by adding: “I’m going to continue to be who I am.”
After taking a scheduled day off on Friday, Lemon was then benched from the show on Monday, The Daily Beast reported. “There are ongoing conversations about Don’s future. He is a constant distraction,” a source familiar with the situation said over the weekend.
After meeting with Lemon on Monday afternoon, Licht announced in a late-night memo to network staffers that the anchor would return to the airwaves on Wednesday morning and undergo training over the sexist remarks.
“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,” the network boss wrote, adding: “It is important to me that CNN balances accountability with fostering a culture in which people can own, learn and grow from their mistakes.”
According to some CNN insiders who spoke with The Daily Beast, the slap on the wrist for Lemon over his antics isn’t sitting well with much of the staff—especially since this has now become a well-established trend for the veteran journalist.
Late last year, for instance, he argued on-air that the men’s soccer team should be paid more than the women’s squad, drawing public outrage and visibly upsetting his co-hosts. Lemon, who was moved from his primetime solo perch to a morning co-hosting gig last fall as part of Licht’s overhaul of the network’s programming, also reportedly screamed at Collins off-air for interrupting him during a broadcast.
“No one is happy to work here right now,” one CNN producer said. “What formal training could he possibly get that would make him feel actual regret for having said the anachronistic and misogynistic thing he said, repeatedly, on national television?”
She continued: “No one thinks that training is enough of a punishment. If you wanna make a point about your values as a network, you suspend someone without pay.”
Another female on-air personality claimed “people at CNN are fuming” and that “no one’s buying” the suggestion that “training” would fix Lemon’s “repeated pattern” of sexist remarks.
“It feels like a betrayal, like Chris is protecting Don at the expense of the women who have to work with him,” she added. “Not to mention the larger reputation of the network and everyone who works for CNN.”
