It’s good to get a second chance, or even a third, in life when you screw up. Most people are not afforded that luxury. One of the downsides of working for somebody else is that if a higher up doesn’t like you, you can be gone.
But television is a strange place to work. It’s a fairy tale land made up of beautiful people who live out our dreams for us, gorgeously dressed and coiffed and in the spotlight, getting all the attention, making all the wise pronouncements.
At least in theory. In practice, TV people mess up regularly and Don Lemon certainly did when he made his crack recently about Nikki Haley not being in her “prime.” That got him out of prime time, at least for a short while, and if he does it again, the higher ups say, he’ll be gone from CNN for good.
Not inartful. Sexist and ageist. Call it what it is.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) February 16, 2023
It’s interesting Don was given this ultimatum, especially since we’ve heard from people in his world that he’s not happy at CNN — not at all — so the uneasiness is mutual.
As for why Don was given such a short leash — well, the fact is … he’s pretty polarizing. DL’s racked up negative headlines (for one reason or another) in recent years, and not just from criticism from people on the right.
There’s another factor here too that must be on the minds of Chris Licht and co. … ratings. Not only were Don’s numbers for his former primetime slot not strong enough to warrant him sticking around there … ratings on his new gig have tanked.
Plus, we’re hearing staffers at CNN are still on edge over Thursday’s incident … with one source saying the anger is real and hasn’t died down. It’s truly become a distraction.
Eggshell city at the Cable News Network, it seems. 😬
Well, would Ms Watts care to comment on Haley’s original call for a mental evaluation of candidates over a certain age? Or, does “sexism” take precedence over “ageism” when it comes to bad behavior, like Haley’s comment that prompted Lemon’s response?
It’s utterly reprehensible that Lemon has faced any kind of blowback when Haley has largely come out completely unscathed over HER original comment. Even worse, when supposed progressives don’t see how they’ve been played right into Haley’s “side.”
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Calling out ‘pube hypocrisy is an empty exercise. Of course it is also an unending one as well.
All this fauxrage at Don Lemon, but not nikki haley🤨…….make it make sense.
I was watching. Don, Poppy and Kaitlyn were very appropriately being highly critical of Nikki’s profound “ageism” slap at Biden needing mental health checking (or whatever) but not Trump, and the three of them were ripping her comment to shreds and then Don said that, not as a comment against all women, much less all people in their early 50’s, but as a direct, snarky shot at Heley, and ONLY Haley, herself. It was, in context, completely and TOTALLY appropriate, warranted, and by no means beyond the pale. It was completely a fair comment in reaction to her comment re Biden. If he’s getting heck about this comment, then it has NOTHING to do with this comment. And I am a big Don Lemon fan!
The dark side of these kinds of statements, is the way they can be twisted into useful grenades and land mines for the one-sided party of NO … The GOP losers …
Republicans dig their own burrows, to hide, while they write their latest shit storm of rhetoric and off-color comments about our current REAL PRESIDENT … While he is out of the country, making the world safer by unifying the surrounding country’s in their fight against Putin and his horrible attacks in the Ukraine cities and country side …
None of these clowns would have the courage and fearless stamina of Biden, who was quietly sent into the hell that Ukraine has become for direct contact and support of the fight there against Putin’s army of canon fodder young troops to be sacrificed per orders of Putin himself, who is working on re-supply of arms by China, not a good thing by any means …
To have these Republican creeps saying ANYTHING against Biden as he has shown amazing fortitude and strength, (Long flights, then 10 hour train trips both ways), shows just how putrid they have become in the GOP … The stupid Republicans in OUR House are saying incredible crap about everything Biden and his administration …
Trump is DONE and he knows it, the danger is now what he tries to do with his pig shit followers, fomenting a horrible violent attack on someone or place …
All this hand wringing when a nazi stole the presidency with our enemy’s help, set a pandemic loose and stood by while it ravaged our citizens and country, destroyed thousands of families at the border, tried to destroy nato and extort Ukraine illegally, broke tax laws for years stealing millions, tried to steal another election through thousands of ongoing lies that undermine our way of life, shit on the military every turn of the road, and conspired and implemented a violent overthrow of our government, and stole the highest level of secret documents which he refused to return, and downloaded them, some of which have yet to be found, oh, and assaulted many women along the way. Yet, he’s still free and the media is saying he’s running for the highest office in the land. I would say the stupid, blind, hypocrisy is laughable, and it would be if so many people hadn’t died so far with more on the way. What an evil joke America has become. I can hear the demons laughing from here.