How Don Lemon Chose to Address His Sexist Remarks During His Return to CNN

Don Lemon is back on the air — and he made sure to issue one last apology for his sexist remarks before the cameras started rolling.

The CNN This Morning co-anchor returned to the show Wednesday morning for the first time since he drew criticism for his comments about Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley during a broadcast last week. He did not, however, address or apologize for those comments on-air.

Instead, Lemon sent out a tweet about the controversy before the show, writing, “I appreciate the opportunity to be back on CNN This Morning today. To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience — I’m sorry. I’ve heard you, I’m learning from you, and I’m committed to doing better. See you soon.”

Ahead of his return, the network’s CEO, Chris Licht, said in an email Monday night that he’d had a “frank and meaningful conversation” with Lemon and that the news anchor had “agreed to participate in formal training, as well as continuing to listen and learn.” 

The offending comments occurred during a discussion on CNN This Morning on Feb. 16 about an arguably ageist remark from Haley, who launched her 2024 presidential bid by saying there should be mental competency tests for politicians older than 75. Rather than critiquing the comment, Lemon argued that Haley, who’s 51, “isn’t in her prime,” adding, “when a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”

At the time, Lemon received some pushback from his co-anchors, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, the former asking if he meant the “prime” age for having children. Lemon then said, “Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just saying what the facts are. Google it, everybody at home … I’m just saying Nikki Haley should be careful about saying that politicians are not in their prime, and they need to be in their prime when they serve. Because she wouldn’t be in her prime, according to Google or whatever it is.”

After the incident, Lemon apologized on Twitter, calling his comments “inartful and irrelevant.” He apologized to his colleagues during an editorial meeting last Friday, too, saying, “When I make a mistake, I own it. And I own this one as well,” Lemon said. “I believe that women of any age… can do whatever they set their minds to.”

Lemon also reportedly touted his relationships with women at CNN during his apology, saying, “The people I am closest to in this organization are women. The people I seek counsel from most in this organization are women.”