Don Lemon's At-Work Blowup Got Worse After CNN Exposed His Behavior Toward Co-Hosts: 'Lost His Mind'
Don Lemon is having a moment. A very, very long moment.
After the latest in a spate of recent reports regarding his problematic behavior toward his morning show co-hosts was highlighted by an internal CNN newsletter, Lemon reportedly “went ballistic,” the entertainment news website Radar Online reported, citing a “well-placed insider” as its source.
The report was the latest in a slow-motion weeks-long train wreck for Lemon’s career prospects, as low ratings for “CNN This Morning” and reports of problematic behavior toward co-hosts Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow have made the one-time Chris Cuomo BFF a potential toxic asset for the network.
On Feb. 2, the New York Post published the latest report that not all was well on set. It was titled “Don Lemon ‘screamed’ at ‘CNN This Morning’ co-host, left crew ‘rattled’: sources,” and the headline basically said it all — after the Dec. 8 edition of the low-rated morning show, Lemon reportedly approached Collins in front of staffers and crew and unloaded on her for “interrupting” him on air.
“Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio,” a source told the Post.
“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,” the Post reported. “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.’”
Not that it helped: “At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible,” one of the Post’s sources said. “It’s messy.”
A prior report from Radar Online had revealed that there were tensions on the show, albeit in a more vague and elliptical manner.
“Don went into this thinking of himself as Beyoncé and his co-hosts as his backup dancers,” said one of the gossip publication’s sources for an article last month.
“That attitude did not fly — especially with Kaitlan,” the source said. “She won’t play second fiddle to Don.”
And now we come full circle — Radar Online reporting from the fallout from the publication of the Post’s report last week, and CNN reportedly including a link to it in one of its internal newsletters.
“Don lost his mind internally and went ballistic at staffers after the CNN newsletter highlighted a story about him screaming,” the “insider” said in Radar Online’s report on Feb. 3.
So Lemon’s way of dealing with a report that his blowups were affecting his co-hosts was to … blow up at staffers. This whole getting-a-clue thing doesn’t seem to be working out for Don.
But then, we should have known this from the beginning. Lest we forget, here was the host last September, assuring us that his move from prime-time to a morning show was not a demotion:
CNN’s @DonLemon on being demoted from primetime to the AM: “I was not demoted” pic.twitter.com/WgatfCzPLT
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) September 16, 2022
Not only was it a demotion, it’s one that’s come with low ratings, to boot. On the week of Jan. 16-22, Lemon’s morning show was crushed by Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” While “Fox & Friends” took an average 1.3 million viewers and 180,000 in the 25-54 demographic, “CNN This Morning” only managed 331,000 average viewers and 85,000 in demographic.
So, be careful, Mr. Lemon. If you keep on going ballistic on people at CNN, pretty soon you may only have yourself to yell at.
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