OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
CNN anchor Don Lemon, who hosts a morning show on the network with Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow, has been accused of being a misogynist and an ageist in recent times, but apparently his misogyny stretches further back.
It stretches back to a time when he began working at CNN, as a new personality, and was given a female cohost.
When Lemon was cohosting a show on CNN named “Live From” with Kyra Phillips, there was tension between the two of them. There were some occasions when a producer from the show had to take Lemon off during a commercial break because he was provoking his cohost.
Variety reported:
Amid the charged atmosphere, sources say Lemon disrespected colleague Nancy Grace on the air and Soledad O’Brien during an editorial meeting attended by roughly 30 staffers.
But his antipathy toward Phillips was particularly concerning and had many members of the close-knit Atlanta news team on edge. While Phillips was on assignment in Iraq — a high-profile gig that Lemon coveted — he vented his disappointment at being passed over by tearing up pictures and notes on top of and inside Phillips’ desk in the news pod they shared, according to two sources who worked there at the time. When she returned from Iraq, things only got weirder. One night while dining with members of the news team, she received the first of two threatening text messages from an unknown number on her flip phone that warned, “Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it.” Phillips was visibly rattled and quickly enlisted CNN’s higher ups to identify the sender.
Remarkably, the texts were traced back to Lemon, according to those same sources. A human resources investigation was launched, and while the findings were never disclosed to the growing pool of staffers who were aware of the situation, Lemon was abruptly pulled from his co-anchor duties with Phillips and moved to the weekends. It was a demotion by any objective measure and understood to be some kind of disciplinary action. It appears to be the last time he was paired with a female anchor until his most recent assignment on “CNN This Morning With Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins.”
“Don says the alleged incident never occurred and that he was never notified of any investigation. CNN cannot corroborate the alleged events from 15 years ago,” a CNN spokesperson said.
When Lemon's "Live From" co-anchor Kyra Phillips was on assignment in Iraq — a gig that Lemon coveted — he vented his disappointment by tearing up pictures and notes on top of and inside Phillips’ desk in the news pod they shared, according to two sources. https://t.co/0Iz9NvKFHv
— Variety (@Variety) April 5, 2023
Lemon also once mocked Nancy Grace on air by mimicking her.
A person close to Grace said “she thinks he’s an ass” and that he was always “rude, dismissive and really unfamiliar with [news] content being discussed.” https://t.co/0Iz9NvKFHv
— Variety (@Variety) April 5, 2023
CNN morning show co-host Kaitlin Collins appears to be ready to move on to something else thanks largely to a worsening relationship with colleague Don Lemon.
According to sources who spoke to RadarOnline.com, Collins, 30, has “had private conversations about returning to Washington, D.C., leaving her on-air frenemy Don Lemon, 57, and Poppy Harlow, 40, in the dust. The revelation comes three months after Lemon blew up on Collins, ‘screaming’ and accusing her of ‘interrupting’ him after their December 8 broadcast.”
After Lemon’s outburst, several witnesses noted that Collins appeared “visibly upset,” and “shaken.” Now, according to the report, Collins wants to limit her work with Lemon as much as possible. Furthermore, Collins — who became CNN’s youngest White House correspondent in the network’s history — has distanced herself even more by parting ways with her United Talent Agency agent, Jay Sures, who also represents Lemon.
According to a report from the New York Post, several sources said that Lemon “screamed” at Collins following the incident on the set of “CNN This Morning,” adding that Lemon, apparently, is unhappy sharing on-air duties with Collins and Harlow.
The Post noted: “According to two sources with knowledge of the situation, the 56-year-old Lemon approached 30-year-old Collins following the show’s Thursday, Dec. 8 broadcast — and unloaded on her in front of staffers as he accused her of interrupting him on air. News of the explosive incident made its way up to CNN CEO Chris Licht, who is said to have been appalled by Lemon’s behavior, according to a source. A second source said a producer talked to Lemon at the behest of Licht and told the anchor to take the next day off to ‘cool off.’”
“Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio,” one source with knowledge of the incident told The Post.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins Threatens to Return to Washington DC After Morning Show Explodeshttps://t.co/eg6PhKkKfg
— Cagacart (@CagacartDesign) March 16, 2023
Smart!
“Kaitlan Collins dumps Don Lemon's agent amid 'CNN This Morning' upheaval” https://t.co/vjNf7iuPgE
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) March 16, 2023
Radar Online went on to report that there was additional drama from Lemon stemming from that incident after CNN mentioned it in a company newsletter.
“Don lost his mind internally and went ballistic at staffers after the CNN newsletter highlighted a story about him screaming,” an “insider” told Radar Online.
“At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible,” one source with knowledge of what’s going on told the New York Post separately. “It’s messy.”
Previously, another network insider told The Wrap that the three co-hosts also appear to be frustrated with the show’s progression after Licht hand-selected them for the gig.
“The show can’t decide strategically what exactly it is, so it’s trying to be everything that can create whiplash for a viewer when segments seem off-brand in tonality,” the insider said. “The audience for morning news on network TV is different than the cable news audience, and since we’re not gaining new viewers, we definitely need to retain our legacy ones.”
CNN’s upper management also pulled Lemon from headlining a major network gig in February after he made what many considered to be sexist remarks about GOP presidential contender Nikki Haley earlier in the month.
Lemon was originally planned to serve as moderator for an “Agents of Change” event in New York last week to commemorate Black History Month, but his previous offensive comments towards Haley and women, in general, tainted his public image and resulted in his removal as moderator from the event, according to TMZ.
“We’re told Don was worried about his current news coverage overtaking the event, and our sources tell us event coordinators at Douglas Elliman agreed … so he bowed out,” the outlet reported, adding he was replaced by real estate broker John Gomes.
