Don Lemon Apologizes In Internal CNN Call Leaked to Politico: ‘I Offended a Whole Lot Of People In This Company’
CNN anchor Don Lemon apologized for remarks that were widely criticized as sexist in an internal call that was leaked to Politico.
On Thursday morning’s edition of CNN This Morning, Lemon stepped in it when he tried to criticize former SC Gov. Nikki Haley’s (R) demand for mental fitness testing for politicians over the age of 75:
Lemon: 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 20s and 30s and maybe 40s…
Poppy Harlow: What are you talking — Wait…
Lemon: That’s not according to me.
Harlow: Prime for what?
Lemon: It depends. It’s just like, prime. If you look it up. If you Google when is a woman in her prime, it’ll say 20s, 30s, 40s.
Harlow: Forties! Oh my god, I have another decade.
Lemon: I’m not saying I agree with that. So I think she has to be careful about saying that, you know, politicians are in their prime.
Harlow: Are you talking about prime for, like, childbearing? Or are you talking about prime for being president?
Lemon: Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just saying what the facts are. Google it.
On Friday morning, CNN chief Chris Licht held a conference call with the newsroom, and Lemon called in to address the controversy. Someone leaked the audio to Politico’s Playbook PM:
“In the history of this organization I’m not sure anyone has done this, and I’m doing it because I want you to know about me, for those of you who don’t know: I believe that women of any age — people of any age, but mostly women of any age — can do whatever they set their minds to.”
“The people I am closest to in this organization are women. The people I seek counsel from first in this organization are women. The person I am closest to in the world is my mother, a woman,” Lemon said.
He went on to name-check some of his CNN colleagues with whom he speaks to regularly, including DANA BASH, ERIN BURNETT, MARIA SPINELLA and “the Poppy and Kaitlans of the world, who run circles around men, and me, on a daily basis.”
He went on to add that “when I make a mistake, I own it. And I own this one as well.”
According to Playbook PM, the remarks weren’t well-received by all.
Watch Lemon’s comments from Thursday above via CNN This Morning.
