Don Lemon has returned to his morning gig on CNN without making any on-air apology for the sexist remarks he made last week.
However, he did tweet an apology about half an hour before appearing on CNN This Morning.
In his tweet, Lemon expressed his gratitude for being back on air, apologized to his network, colleagues, and the audience, and promised to learn from his mistakes and do better.
He wrote, “I appreciate the opportunity to be back on @CNNThisMorning 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.'”
During his return, Lemon opened the show with a mundane segment alongside co-host Poppy Harlow in the studio while Kaitlan Collins reported from Warsaw, Poland, covering President Biden.
They discussed Biden’s speech about Kyiv standing strong one year after Ukraine was invaded by Russia.
Lemon commented on the speech and turned to Harlow, saying, “Very powerful speech from the President.” Harlow replied, “Very powerful and juxtaposed to what we heard from Putin in the morning,” referring to the Russian President’s speech in opposition to Biden’s.
The co-hosts then tried to portray a happy family on set, but there was much tension behind the scenes.
TMZ reported that Don Lemon is one strike away from being fired by CNN.
Senior executives reportedly gave him a final warning when they spoke to him this week, and if he makes another mistake, he will be out.
It is also said that Lemon is not happy at CNN anyway, and his last week’s sexist remarks about Nikki Haley only escalated the tensions.
During the show, no mention of Don’s comments or an on-air apology was made, and his co-hosts were trying to pretend that everything was normal.
It is essential to recognize and take responsibility for the harm caused by our actions, and Lemon’s apology is a good first step towards making amends.
However, an apology alone is not enough; Lemon needs to demonstrate that he has learned from his mistakes and take the necessary steps to avoid repeating them in the future.
As for Lemon’s future at CNN, it remains to be seen whether he will continue to work for the network.
