Poppy Harlow recently showed her CNN This Morning co-hosts, Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins, some love. Prior to a spate of tense, awkward exchanges, the three anchors were brought together in September for the rebooted morning show, which has seen some personality clashing, particularly between Lemon and the two women. The heated moments have led some viewers to question the feasibility of the morning roster. However, a recent Instagram post from Harlow suggests that those incidents are all water under the bridge. Harlow uploaded a black and white picture of the three journalists posing for photos at the Dec. 11 event, CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute at the American Museum of Natural History. Harlow, Lemon, and Collins are all smiles, with no traces of negativity to be found. “The only two people who could make me smile this big after a 3am wake up [heart emoji],” Harlow wrote as the caption.
This display of unity follows a couple of troubling incidents on the This Morning set that began earlier this month when Lemon outspokenly challenged Harlow and Collins’ opinions on equal pay in sports, declaring, “I know everyone’s gonna hate me,” Lemon began. “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!” A tense debate followed, with Lemon stubbornly standing his ground despite the other two anchors’ counterarguments.
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Another uncomfortable moment occurred on the Dec. 15 broadcast, during which Lemon and Collins engaged in a verbal tussle. Lemon had attempted to read through the latest updates on Brittney Griner’s return to the U.S. Thursday morning after a segment from a correspondent on the scene. He was looking at his notes and trying to get through a set number of facts before moving on. At the same time, Collins appeared to try to make the moment more conversational, repeatedly attempting to interject. The result was that both hosts talked over each other, which led viewers to bemoan the hosts’ lack of “chemistry.”
As reported by Puck News, Thursday’s incident did not end there. According to insiders, Lemon took Friday off work, leaving Collins and Poppy Harlow to host without him in a story about the broader issues impacting CNN behind the scenes. Lemon was thought to have taken the day off to avoid another confrontation by studio staff after his tense encounter with Collins the day before. It’s worth noting that others believe Lemon just took the day off because he was tired from traveling. He had attended the White House Christmas party on Thursday night.
