Beleaguered CNN host Don Lemon doesn’t appear to just be running out of second chances at the network — he appears to be running out of allies there, too.
Lemon, whose recent run at CNN could generously be described as “tenuous,” has reportedly become such a reviled co-worker that he’s become persona non grata — even to a “pal” like Anderson Cooper.
And while celebrity gossip site RadarOnline.com stopped short of calling Cooper a “friend” of Lemon’s in its report, the report does follow a string of incidents that have dogged Lemon in recent months.
“Anderson wants nothing to do with Don anymore. People inside CNN run when they see Don coming down the hallway,” an unnamed source told Radar. “No one wants to end up on the wrong side when Don messes up again — and he will! He’s a ticking time bomb.”
If true, that report illustrates just how far Lemon has fallen within CNN’s hierarchy.
For a gay, black man’s brand to become so allegedly toxic on the liberal-leaning CNN should be a searing indictment of just how badly Lemon has upset his superiors and peers.
If the unnamed source is embellishing, or if the report is even just completely wrong and Cooper is actually eagerly awaiting to aid his former prime-time coworker, there is still quite a bit of work needed to repair Lemon’s image.
Issues with Lemon first began cropping up when he was removed from his role as one of CNN’s prime-time pundits, alongside Erin Burnett, Chris Cuomo (before his removal in 2021), and Cooper.
Lemon was moved from those evening programs to “CNN This Morning,” which he co-hosts with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.
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Unfortunately for that early morning triumvirate, “CNN This Morning” debuted to abysmal ratings that haven’t improved much since.
In fact, the show became one of the least-watched morning shows in a decade for CNN.
While poor ratings would be enough to stress out the cast and crew of a television show on its own, Lemon’s behavior — both on-screen and off — has only allegedly made things worse.
Reports soon began circulating that Lemon was downright abusive backstage, a report buttressed by his on-air behavior, where he would frequently and abruptly call audibles, and correct his co-hosts.
Lemon’s most infamous and enduring snafu from his tenure on “CNN This Morning” when he had this to say about current GOP presidential contender Nikki Haley:
“Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry. When a woman is considered to be in her prime — in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
Haley is 51.
That now-infamous remark sparked a wave of backlash, which in turn forced CNN’s hand, as the network took Lemon off-air for a few days and had him undergo “formal training.”
Even now, into March, reports continue to circulate that Lemon’s behavior is grating on his co-workers, when he’s not wallowing, as the 57-year-old is also still paying for his Haley comments.
If all those reports are true, or even if just some are, it’s little wonder that Cooper, one of the biggest names at a struggling network, would want nothing to do with Lemon.
