CNN host Don Lemon took an unplanned day off today after his controversial remarks that the 51-year-old Nikki Haley “is not in her prime,” reported The Hollywood Reporter.
Lemon has not been on the air since his comments Thursday on CNN’s This Morning. His absence Friday had been previously scheduled, but he decided to extend his time off into the President’s Day holiday after apologizing on Thursday.
He also called into a staff meeting on Friday to say sorry to the staff.
It’s unknown when he might return.
Lemon got into hot water when he first criticized Haley for suggesting candidates more than 75 years old should take a mental competency test.
“She says people, politicians are not in their prime,” he said. “Nikki Haley is not in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s.”
His on-air comments Thursday rankled co-host Poppy Harlow who pushed him to clarify what he meant by “prime.”
She wanted to know if he meant “prime for child bearing” or “prime for being president.”
“If you Google, ‘when is a woman in her prime,’ it’ll say 20s, 30s, and 40s. … I’m not saying I agree with that so I think she has to be careful about saying that (politicians aren’t in their prime).”
Later, he took to Twitter to apologize.
“The reference I made to a woman’s ‘prime’ this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it,” Lemon wrote. “A woman’s age doesn’t define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day.”
According to USA Today, Haley responded by saying it’s always the liberals who are the most sexist.
“To be clear, I am NOT calling for competency tests for Sexist middle-aged CNN anchors; only for people who make our laws and are 75+,” Haley wrote.
This controversy comes at an inopportune time for Lemon. The former evening hosts was moved to morning when new CNN chief Christ Licht took over. The pairing of Lemon with Harlow and Audie Cornish has been criticized for lacking chemistry. So far viewers haven’t responded either. The show is CNN’s lowest-rated daytime show in a decade, the Wrap reported.
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Lemon is such a dope. At a White House correspondents dinner, The future of comedian referred to Don lemon as someone who “used to be a journalist.”
In typical Lemon style, he gave the comedian, the finger… And the broadcast TV camera caught it.
Classy guy that Lemon. He also projects pretty arrogant attitude in his early morning show, of which he is one of three hosts.
Good that Harlow walked off the set after Lemon’s misogynistic remark.