CNN’s Don Lemon, demoted a few months ago in a CNN shake up that saw several of his primetime colleagues axed, was missing from his new morning show’s recent broadcast after several outlets reported he had screamed at one of his new co-hosts and left her in tears.
Lemon was already not thrilled to be sharing screen time with two additional hosts and is reportedly “difficult to work with” – so this almost seemed like it would be a matter of when and not a matter of if that tensions boiled over.
Lemon is now accused of screaming at his younger, female co-host Kaitlan Collins for repeatedly interrupting him on-air. The outburst left Collins in tears and the crew rattled, the Daily Mail said.
What’s more, Collins was so shaken by the confrontation that she ran out of the studio. Lemon was told to take the day off and “cool off,” the story continued.
The alleged incident, just now getting coverage, is said to have occurred on set last December. The Daily Mail noted that the timing of the unhinged reaction from Lemon spoiled some of CNN’s holiday party plans.
The trio of co-hosts was supposed to arrive together the day after the off-air incident for the White House Christmas party, but they went separately and canceled their pre-party plans.
After the party, Lemon met up with the agent that represents him and Collins, while his other two co-hosts got together for drinks, the source claimed.
Collins and Lemon have starred alongside each other on the show since it started three months ago. The pair, along with Harlow, used to arrive to red carpets and events as a unit. But now, they arrive separate and seem to want to stay far away from each other.
The show was barely off the ground on December 8th and Lemon was already losing his mind on his colleagues. But no wonder, one source at CNN shared that Lemon was “bossy” and “difficult to work with” on the new show
While it’s unclear if Collins intentionally interrupted Lemon, one source referred to him as ‘bossy’ and ‘difficult to work with” after coming from his solo, eponymous prime-time gig to the early-morning co-hosted program he’s now on. The cognitive dissonance between what his ego feels he deserves and what he’s getting must be through the roof.
‘My understanding is he wants the show to be about him. I don’t know how you fix that. It’s a very difficult situation.’ another source said.
The Daily Mail also reminded readers that the relationship between the trio was likely already at odds. In addition to Lemon being disgruntled, he upset the pair of female co-hosts for what the Daily Mail called ‘mansplaining.” While I am no fan of Don Lemon, in his defense in this particular case he is 100% spot on in his assessment of the disparity between men and women’s soccer.
The Daily Mail wrote:
Before Lemon allegedly shouted at Collins, he caused yet more controversy after ‘mansplaining’ to his female co-hosts why men’s sports bring in more money.
On December 1, Harlow and Collins struggled to get a word in after it was revealed the US Women’s National Soccer Team will earn more from the men’s world cup than they did from their 2019 World Cup championship.
Lemon, who has been responsible for a spate of controversial on-air statements, attempted to explain to his colleagues that the US women’s soccer team has historically earned less than their male counterparts because there is simply limited interest in their playing of the sport.
‘You cannot make people become interested in something they are not interested in,’ Lemon said.
Last month, CNN This Morning drew an average of just 330,000 average daily viewers over the course of a week, a new low for an already low-viewer program.
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