Don Lemon ‘taking holiday,’ won’t anchor ‘CNN This Morning’ Monday
Embattled CNN anchor Don Lemon won’t appear on the network’s morning show Monday for the second consecutive day as the fallout from his sexist remarks controversy swirls at the cable network.
Lemon was scheduled to be back in the anchor chair at “CNN This Morning,” but opted to take off for the Presidents’ Day holiday, network spokesperson Matt Dornic told The Post.
“I thought he was coming back tomorrow but he is taking the holiday,” Dornic said in an email.
Lemon’s absence on Monday was first reported by the Daily Beast, who cited network sources that claimed his position was being discussed at the highest levels at the company.
“There are ongoing conversations about Don’s future,” one source told the outlet. “He is a constant distraction.”
Lemon’s absence comes after he apologized to CNN staff and on Twitter last week for saying GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley, 51, was “isn’t in her prime.”
Lemon made the remarks about Haley on Thursday’s morning show, telling co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins that “a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
He was responding to Haley’s call for mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75.
Word of Lemon’s absence for Monday’s show was announced inside the network on Sunday afternoon, the Beast reported. A new on-air lineup now lists Harlow anchoring the show with Sara Sidner, according to the report.
Lemon’s comments prompted a stern rebuke from CNN CEO Chris Licht, who told staffers he was disappointed in the anchor’s statements.
“His remarks were upsetting, unacceptable, and unfair to his co-hosts, and ultimately a huge distraction to the great work of this organization,” Licht reportedly said at a Friday morning editorial call.
“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 tweeted Thursday.
“A woman’s age doesn’t define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day.”
Lemon did not appear on the morning show Friday as scrutiny of his comments grew.
