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CNN’s embattled anchor Don Lemon will return to CNN This Morning on Wednesday, but has formal training to go through after his litany of on-air troubling comments.
The 56-year-old host was absent from the show with co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins on Friday and Monday following comments he made Thursday that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was “past her prime.”
CNN President Chris Licht, who has criticized Lemon’s comments, sent a memo to employees Monday saying Lemon agreed to participate in the training and would return Wednesday, according to a tweet from CNN. former CNN anchor Brian Stelter.
Lemon took the President’s Day holiday today and was also not on the show Friday, but joined a CNN editorial call from Miami where he apologized to staff for his comments.
CNN’s embattled anchor Don Lemon will return to CNN This Morning on Wednesday, but has formal training to go through after his litany of on-air troubling comments.
CNN President Chris Licht, who has criticized Lemon’s comments, sent a memo to employees Monday saying Lemon agreed to participate in the training and would return Wednesday, according to a tweet by former CNN anchor Brian Stelter.
The 56-year-old was seen swimming and frolicking on the beach hours after joining a CNN editorial call from Miami, where he once again apologized to staff for his comments.
According to a memo sent to employees, Licht said: “I sat down with Don and had a frank and meaningful conversation. He has agreed to participate in formal training, as well as continue to listen and learn. We take this situation very seriously.
“It’s important to me that CNN balances accountability with fostering a culture where people can own up to, learn from, and grow from their mistakes. To that end, Don will return to CNN This Morning on Wednesday.
Lemon was criticized when he made “sexist” comments on Thursday’s show when discussing Haley’s suggestion that politicians 75 and older should face mental competency tests.
Licht criticized Lemon’s comments as “disturbing, unacceptable and unfair to his co-hosts and ultimately a major distraction from the great work of this organization.”
CNN President Chris Licht criticized his comments as “disturbing, unacceptable and unfair to his co-hosts and ultimately a major distraction from the great work of this organization.”
Lemon’s comments reportedly didn’t impress many staff members and angered many viewers when he offered his opinion on when he thinks a woman is at her best.
“Nikki Haley is not at her best, I’m sorry,” she had said on the show. “A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe 40s.”
But Lemon was seen in Miami on Friday dispelling criticism by relaxing with partner Tim Mahone at the luxurious $2,000-a-night beach resort Faena.
Lemon was replaced that day by Audie Cornish, as the show avoided acknowledging comments he made the day before despite increasing calls for him to be squeezed.
Last week, inside sources told DailyMail.com that Lemon is “rude, self-righteous and downright sexist”, adding that “his apology meant nothing”.
They said: ‘Don has been skating on thin ice for so long and many wanted him fired in December when he freaked out on Kaitlin Collins for no reason. He was crying and it was so inappropriate.
Regardless of her political affiliation, her comments that Nikki Haley was past her prime were sickening. Poppy was furious, as she should be, and she still is.
“He is rude, self-righteous and clearly sexist. Nikki did the right thing by calling him.
“His apology meant nothing and there is a lot of pressure to get it canned. It would be a shock if it wasn’t.
Collins was also quick to sing the praises of Cornish, her co-host for a day, by posting a photo of them together on her Instagram.
Harlow, Lemon and Collins had been discussing Haley’s proposal during a speech Wednesday announcing his candidacy for president.
Lemon, who is five years older than Haley, 51, said the politician should treat the issue lightly because “a woman is at her best in her 20s and 30s and maybe her 40s.”
Lemon, 56, got ‘ballistic’ on employees who highlighted the dispute with Collins, according to RadarOnline, with the host claiming she ‘interrupted’ him during a December broadcast.
Kaitlan Collins (right) opened the show by saying her co-host “has the day off” as Lemon was replaced that day by Audie Cornish (left), and the show didn’t acknowledge comments she made the day before.
Haley herself responded to Lemon’s comments, saying, “It’s always the liberals who are the most sexist” in a tweet with a clip from the video segment.
Lemon apologized for his comments on the Thursday show, tweeting: “My reference to a woman’s ‘best’ this morning was naive and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I’m sorry.”
‘A woman’s age does not define her personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who try it every day.
An irate Harlow reportedly stormed off set following the ‘sexist’ exchange on Thursday, sources told the New York Post.
Harlow took a bathroom break “at the right time” and Kaitlan Collins followed her into the bathroom, with the source adding that the strained relationship has been “smoldering for months.”
Collins had her own run-in with her fellow host, who was seen on camera repeatedly interrupting her during the show on December 8.
Lemon allegedly made Collins run off the set in tears after he berated her in front of the television crew and her other co-host.
Since the incident, Lemon has been deployed to Memphis and on other assignments, while Collins worked remotely from Washington, DC on several occasions in January.
CNN This Morning suffered a ratings bomb and, early last month, experienced its lowest-watched week since its launch, averaging just over 330,000 viewers.