Don Lemon sparked outrage earlier this week with his sexist and ageist comments about Republican Nikki Haley and now some of his colleagues are calling for his removal.
Nikki Haley is 51 years old.
Lemon’s comments were in response to Haley’s commentary on Joe Biden’s age and mental competency.
“This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable. 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 their 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
When Lemon’s co-anchor Poppy Harlow pressed him to define what he meant by “prime,” he went on to say: “I’m just saying what the facts are. 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 be 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.”
Questioning Biden’s mental competency is natural at this point, given his numerous gaffes and strange behavior throughout his “residency.”
Staffers at CNN are furious and now calling for Lemon to be fired.
Lemon gave an awkward apology during a 9 a.m. Friday call with editorial staffers that was led by CNN’s CEO Chris Licht, in which Lemon tried to explain away his remarks before apologizing.
“He said he was sorry two minutes into the call,” one source close to the situation said of Lemon. “It was very self-centered and he lied. It was not his idea to apologize. They made him do it.”
According to the New York Post, CNN sources are saying “everyone is pissed” about the comment and that “he has got to go.”
The New York Post reported:
CNN staffers are fuming over Don Lemon’s cringeworthy apology for his on-air, sexist diatribe about 51-year-old Nikki Haley — with some calling for the anchor to be fired.
“He has got to go,” a CNN insider told The Post. “He is hurting the brand. Women aren’t even focused on the sexism — it’s the damage to CNN.”
“Everyone is pissed about it,” a second CNN source said, referring to Lemon’s attention-grabbing gaffes, “It makes us the story and it hurts us.”
…
“He said he was sorry two minutes into the call,” one source close to the situation said of Lemon. “It was very self-centered and he lied. It was not his idea to apologize. They made him do it.”
During Bill Maher’s Overtime Segment that airs on CNN, ABC News contributor Sarah Isgur blasted Lemon saying, “As Don Lemon told us on CNN, women actually can’t run for president because he said we’re past our prime once we get to our 40s.”
Fox News reported:
A guest on “Real Time with Bill Maher” blasted embattled CNN host Don Lemon over his controversial remarks disparaging Nikki Haley in a segment that appeared on CNN’s own airwaves…
While MSNBC host Ari Melber argued both President Biden and former President Trump have every right to run for president, ABC News contributor Sarah Isgur took the opportunity to make a dig at the “CNN This Morning” host even after Maher acknowledged at the top of the “Overtime” segment that it was being aired on CNN.
“As Don Lemon told us on CNN, women actually can’t run for president because he said we’re past our prime once we get to our 40s. But since you have to be 35 to run, it’s like this really tiny window between 35 and 40,” Isgur quipped, sparking laughs from the audience.
Maher awkwardly grinned before quickly moving on from the Lemon jab.
