Don Lemon is stunned into silence when royal commentator says African kings should pay reparations

CNN presenter Don Lemon was unable to find words after a royal commentator told him that reparations are needed – but they should be demanded from the African leaders who sold their subjects into slavery.

Lemon interviewed Hilary Fordwich on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and suggested that the British Royal Family make reparations.

Lemon said, ‘Well, this comes when… all this wealth, and you hear about it, comes as England faces rising costs of living, a life crisis, austerity and so on.

“And then you have those who are asking for reparations for colonialism, and they’re wondering, you know, $100 billion, $24 billion here and there, $500 million there.

“Some people want to be repaid and the public is wondering, why do we suffer when you have all this enormous wealth? Those are legitimate concerns.’

Fordwich replied, ‘Well, I think you’re right when it comes to reparations if people want it. What to do – is it always necessary to go back to the beginning of a supply chain, where was the beginning of the supply chain?

“That was in Africa, and when it went all over the world, when slavery happened. What was the first country in the world to abolish slavery? The first country in the world to abolish it, it was founded by William Wilberforce, was the British.

“In Britain they have abolished slavery. 2,000 Marines died on the high seas trying to end slavery. Why? Because the African kings picked up their own people, they had them in cages waiting on the beaches, nobody ran into Africa to get them.

“And I think you’re absolutely right. If reparations are to be made, we have to go back to the beginning of that supply chain and say, ‘Who picked up their own people and left them handcuffed in cages? Absolute. That’s where they should start.

“And maybe, I don’t know, the descendants of those families where they died on the high seas trying to end slavery, that those families should get something too, I think at the same time.”

The interview between Lemon and Fordwich took place on the night of the Queen’s funeral

Lemon closed the interview after Fordwich’s response, saying: ‘It’s an interesting discussion’

The royal commentator’s response immediately silenced Lemon when he decided to close the interview.

“It’s an interesting discussion,” Lemon said. “Thank you very much, I appreciate it. We will continue to discuss in the future.’

Britain was the first country in the world to abolish slavery permanently.

Some other countries imposed limited bans, but trade in the UK was abolished in 1833 with the Slavery Abolition Act.

African leaders played a role in trading their own people to European countries as demand increased.

The Portuguese would buy enslaved Africans held captive since the tribal wars. Africans would also transport slaves to the coast to sell them to Europeans, according to Britannica.

Royal commenter Fordwich is a global business advisor and regular media contributor, according to her Women’s Media Center Profile.

Fordwich is ‘a national Royal Watcher’ for networks including Sunday Morning, CNN and CBS. She has covered every royal wedding since William and Kate.

The interview with the royal commentator came days after CNN announced Lemon would be canceling its nighttime primetime show for a morning performance with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.

Some on Twitter speculated that Lemon’s lack of response to Fordwich was the result of CNN’s “new policy” of not bashing conservatives and delivering “fair news” amid the recent spate of layoffs of notorious liberal journalists at the United States. media group.

Lemon first spoke about CNN’s latest uproar on Thursday, calling the change a promotion. He insisted that the network would not let him change his leftist stance after his colleagues — who were overly critical of Donald Trump and the GOP — were fired.

“This isn’t someone who tells you to go right, Don Lemon, and not give so much of your perspective. None of that happened,” Lemon said. “That’s all food for Twitter.

‘I’m not demoted. None of that. This is an opportunity. This is a promotion.’

Kaitlan Collins (left) and Poppy Harlow (right) appear along with Lemon. in the new morning show

CEO Chris Licht (above) called the trio “compelling and trustworthy” as CNN is experiencing a shift in operations, with Licht leading the purge against journalists who are overly critical of the GOP

Lemon’s new production with Harlow and Collins will replace the “New Day” show hosted by John Berman and Brianna Keilar, which will run from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The call is one of the most prominent decisions by CNN’s new CEO Chris Licht, as he seeks to remove and steer away from “opinion-based partisan news” and anchors criticizing conservatives and the GOP.

CNN has been purging itself of its reputation for being a vigilant media source since Licht promised to make the network more trustworthy to the people by putting a stop to the Republican slander.

The new move has led to the termination of popular CNN hosts, including John Harwood and Brian Stelter, from their shows.

Light previously warned CNN staffers that there were changes coming to the network that they “wouldn’t understand” or “like.”