CNN's Don Lemon sparks new accusations of sexism after attack on Nikki Haley
'Outnumbered' panelists sound off on the liberal host for claiming GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is past her prime as a woman.
"Outnumbered" panelists sounded off on CNN host Don Lemon after his latest attack on Nikki Haley sparked accusations of sexism.
Co-host Kayleigh McEnany, in disbelief, asked, "What are you thinking, Don Lemon?"
Lemon faced widespread backlash for claiming Haley, a Republican presidential candidate, had passed her "prime" as a woman. When met with confusion and stifled anger from his two female co-hosts, Lemon further explained that a woman is in her "prime" from her 20s through 40s.
Haley is 51 years old.
"He always keeps me laughing," McEnany joked Thursday. She then highlighted successful women who, by Lemon’s standard, were also past their prime.
"Margaret Thatcher became prime minister in her fifties," McEnany noted. "Nancy Pelosi, who I don't particularly like. However, it's hard to argue she was not good at her job. She was excellent at her job: keeping Dems together. She became speaker for the second time at 70."
CNN pulled Don Lemon from primetime for a new gig on "CNN This Morning" in late 2022. (CNN)
Co-host Emily Compagno said Lemon’s comments don’t come as a surprise, but she questioned why he’s still given a platform to push his rhetoric.
"He continues to offend and appall viewers," Compagno added. "It's deserving of at least admission of some kind how patently inappropriate and uneducated that comment was."
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Compagno then noted that every female Supreme Court justice was nominated in their fifties.
"There is not enough time on this show to combat his statement with the amount of women who have contributed to this society and this world and this planet in such meaningful ways past their prime," she said.
"I can't say the same for Don Lemon."
Lemon issued a statement on Twitter in response to the fierce backlash he received, saying he regrets his comments. His tweet, however, failed to include a straightforward apology.
"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. 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 wrote.
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Harris Faulkner, co-host of "Outnumbered," noted that Lemon himself is 56 – five years older than Nikki Haley.
"So when are men in their prime?" she asked.
"I felt bad for the women around him, though. They really didn’t know what to do with him, and they often don’t," Faulkner said. "Anyway, good luck Don."
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