Stephen Colbert Mocks Don Lemon’s ‘CNN This Morning’ Hoodie Outfit

Stephen Colbert loves to crack jokes about the political world on The Late Show, but this week one of his barbs veered over toward the news media and struck hard. The comedian set aside about 60 seconds on Thursday to joke about CNN host Don Lemon, who wore a suit jacket over a hooded sweatshirt on the air that morning. As an avid fan and fashion enthusiast, Colbert was appalled.

Fans could tell that Colbert was about to roast Lemon because he prefaced this bit by explaining that he and Lemon are actually friends in real life. He said: “You know I love me a Don Lemon. Don is a dear, dear friend – SoulCycle emergency contact – and of course, I always watch the CNN This Morning.” With that established, Colbert began to dig into Lemon’s outfit while a screenshot appeared on the screen.

“I was watching this morning, and I was a little taken aback because I didn’t expect this. Could you show what he was wearing?” Colbert said. The image appeared on screen, showing Lemon in a heather gray hoodie and matching sweatpants with a blue plaid suit jacket over them. The laughter wasn’t immediate, but it built as Colbert began to unload his punchlines on Lemon.

“I believe a great man once said: ‘What the f— is that?’” Colbert said. “I know they want to add some comedy to CNN, and this is hilarious, but how do you report the news in that outfit? How do you actually talk about tragedy wearing that, because what could be more tragic than that look that he had this morning?”

“He looks like he’s, like, a high school track teacher who went for a run, and then got a little hungry and stopped at a restaurant, but it was too nice of a restaurant, and they said ‘Sir, you have to wear a jacket,’ so he then stole a jacket from an extra from Guys & Dolls,” Colbert went on. “Anyway, Don, you’ve got a lot to answer for. I hope you talk about this tomorrow on the show. I’ll be watching.”

As a matter of fact, Lemon did explain himself on Friday morning. Lemon watched the clip himself live on the air with his co-anchors, and he chuckled at some of Colbert’s punchlines. When asked if he wanted to respond, he seemed almost hesitant for a second.

“OK, so look, I love Stephen Colbert,” he began. “I think he’s funny, obviously I love comedians, they have a little leeway. It was interesting, I didn’t expect that reaction. For me, it was sort of like a Rorschach test – wearing that outfit.” For a moment, it even seemed like Lemon might back off of the topic as he said: “Anyways, I don’t know, I don’t know if I want to get into it.”

The anchor ultimately decided to forge ahead, saying: “Stephen, here’s the thing: I make lots of different outfit choices, right? And when I took this job, one of the things was, ‘we want you to relax and be more comfortable and go with sort of what is happening in the world right now. People aren’t wearing suits as much. A lot has changed since the pandemic, right? So, I just found it interesting that there was such a reaction because online I got a lot of negative reactions. I just want to say that a lot has changed.”

Lemon had clearly given the topic of fashion scrutiny a lot of thought, and not just for himself. Turning to his co-anchor Kaitlan Collins, he said: “I understand more of how you feel when they talk about women’s skirts, and women’s outfits, and their hair, and their makeup or whatever. Men never get scrutinized that much.”

Addressing Colbert again, Lemon said: “I think that, uh, have fun with comedy. I think if Barack Obama can get criticized for a tan suit, if Vladimir Zelensky can fight a war in a hoodie, if Trayvon Martin can start a revolution in a hoodie, then Don Lemon can tell the news in a hooded sweater. Stephen, I love you, I’m glad you started this conversation, but it is like a Rorschach test. I was actually surprised at who said what about what I wore yesterday. And by the way, I don’t just roll out of bed and not think about it. I think about exactly everything I wear.”

After that dramatic response, it seems safe to assume that Colbert and Lemon will have a larger conversation about fashion and media in the future. CNN This Morning airs on weekdays at 6 a.m. ET on CNN, while The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.