Don Lemon has had a rough go in recent weeks with his employer CNN. First he lost his prime-time show and was mentioned as on the bubble regarding the network’s new direction. He was sent to anchor a new morning show, alongside AM veteran Poppy Harlow and former chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.
Lemon seemed to boil over a bit this week when apparently clashing with his co-hosts, especially Collins in an awkward moment. But amid the tension, Lemon seemed to send word publicly that things were fine with the morning team.
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The photo captures Lemon and his co-hosts smiling with actor Theo James, celebrating the finale of The White Lotus recently. The crew were far from the awkwardness shown on the air on CNN. One of the sparks came while discussing the pay between the men’s and women’s national teams in soccer.
“I know everyone’s gonna hate me,” Lemon started the tense moment. “But the men’s team makes more money. If they make more money, then they should get more money. The men’s team makes more money because people are more interested in the men!.”
“I’m not sexist. When I go to a sports bar – guys, am I wrong? You guys don’t want to say anything,” Lemon continued. “When I go to a sports bar if there’s a women’s basketball game on…people will say, ‘can you flip it to the guys?’ I don’t want to watch this…you can not make people become interested in something they’re not interested in.”
This continued into a moment that garnered more attention, pitting Lemon against the bristling Collins. Both seemed to try to talk over each other while, leaving some questioning if there was a gulf between the hosts.
Lemon’s absence shortly after the awkwardness also created some issue, with many connecting the two incidents. But the reality was Lemon took the day off after celebrating the signing of the same-sex marriage bill at The White House. So if there is an issue, it isn’t fully showing on the public side just yet.
