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don-lemon-cnn.jpeg

Don Lemon Was Either 'Benched' Or Took a Personal Day, Depending on the Source

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 20, 2023 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 20, 2023 |


don-lemon-cnn.jpeg

There is no dispute about the fact that Don Lemon did not appear on CNN This Morning today and that he was in Miami this weekend with his boyfriend. There is a dispute, however, about whether his absence was a personal choice or the decision of management at CNN.

Ask The Wrap, and “an individual with knowledge,” and Don Lemon is taking the day off because he is “gutted” as he feels that he “let women down.” It was so bad over the weekend that the New York Post — yes, the New York Post — ripped Lemon, writing that his remarks were “sexist” and he “clearly doesn’t like women.” The source says that Lemon was simply extending his vacation time over the Presidents’ Day weekend and, by the way, is being hounded by the paparazzi in Miami.

It’s unclear if the “individual with knowledge” who spoke to Sharon Waxman was Lemon himself or his fiance, but The Daily Beast had another take on the matter yesterday:

Don Lemon will not appear Monday on CNN This Morning as his future on the show continues to be discussed at the highest levels within the network, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Lemon, who was forced to make a groveling apology to CNN staffers on Friday after making offensive remarks about women and aging, had been scheduled to anchor This Morning alongside co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, according to a copy of the CNN anchor schedule obtained and reviewed by Confider.

I guess the question is: Who do you trust the most? The “individual with knowledge” who spoke to the publisher of The Wrap, or “two people familiar with the matter” and a “copy of the CNN anchor schedule”?