Controversial CNN Host Don Lemon Allowed to Return to the Air Pending Completion of Training

CNN host Don Lemon (pictured above) recently made questionable comments relating to Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley and her age. Source for photo: The Boston Globe

Since starting his media career with CNN in 2006, Don Lemon has not exactly been the most unproblematic television anchor. He has been called out numerous times for questionable and offensive language, yet he has always managed to return to the air. Early in his career, he drew negative attention to comments about the African American community in America. The comments pertained to how Black Americans could improve their socio-economic standing by doing five simple things. He was quoted speaking out against sagging pants, saying “Here's number five: pull up your pants, walking around with your a** and your underwear showing is not okay.” The list would go on to include calling out the use of the n-word, telling the community to “respect where they live,” “finish school,” and saying “just because you can have a baby doesn’t mean you should.” These comments were met with considerable backlash with many people saying that he was regurgitating stereotypes and that opinions such as those should be kept off of live television. While this was the first instance of Lemon angering the public, it certainly would not be the last. 

Later in his career, he again faced controversy, though in a much different manner. In the beginning of 2018, Lemon responded to comments made by the former President concerning his comments made about countries such as El Salvador, Haiti, and Honorus being “shitholes.” Lemon fired back at the former President on his talk show, CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, saying, “The President of the United States is racist. A lot of us already knew that.” These comments were met with outcries from the right, who did not perceive the former president to be a racist. He would further anger the right in the same year after stating that domestic terrorism by white supremacist groups – to quote Lemon, “most of them radicalized to the right” – were a bigger threat than any foreigner. These comments came in response to the former President’s travel ban on several Middle Eastern countries. 

Recently, he sparked yet another public discourse by commenting on the age of Republican Presidential candidate, Nikki Hayley, and her age.In February, in a segment of CNN This Morning hosted by Don Lemon, Kaitlin Collins, and Poppy Harlow, Lemon discussed Hayley’s announcement that she was running for the nomination. At the time his controversial statement was made, the crew was discussing Hayley’s idea to issue competence tests to members of the government who are over 75. Many perceived the comment to be a jab at current President Joe Biden, who is 80 years old. Lemon, in response, suggested that Hayley herself was “out of her prime.” He then stated, “A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s, and maybe her 40s.” These remarks were met with immediate confusion by his co-host who asked if he was referring to child-bearing prime, presidential candidacy prime, or something else entirely. To further argue his point, Lemon said, “If you Google, 'when is a woman in her prime,' it'll say 20s, 30s, and 40s. ... I'm not saying I agree with that so I think she has to be careful about saying that [politicians are not in their prime].” These comments immediately triggered a response in the online community with many journalists such as Us Weekly’s Gwen Flamberg calling for Lemon’s resignation. Lemon’s comments were hurtful to many women around the U.S. and led to his suspension from the company the following day.

After making those remarks on Thursday, Lemon was suspended Friday, which was a day he already had off, as well as Monday and Tuesday the following week. At that time, he released a statement apologizing for his actions on Twitter. In the apology, Lemon stated that his comments were “inartful and irrelevant” and that he “regrets it.” Though his apology was accepted by some, many pointed out that he never truly apologized or said “I’m sorry,” although he claims to regret it. His suspension ended, though,  and CNN has stated he would be allowed to return to the air pending on completion of “training.” The jury is still out on the fairness of his punishment as well as the damage his statements have done to the reputation of CNN and the media in general. In light of this situation, I was able to sit down with Hussman School of Journalism and Media professor Lois A. Boynton and discuss the matter and the fallout it may have.

Boynton provided her insight into the matter as a formal journalist, media professional, and veteran of the industry. We first discussed the professionalism of Lemon’s statements and subsequent defense. Boynton said, “He completely missed the mark professionally,” and that his comments shed a bad light on not only CNN but the news media as a whole. His defense of the statement “. . . only dug him into a further hole,” and is largely the reason for the amount of backlash he has received. Discussing his “apology,” Boynton said his response, “Didn’t count in the apology department and I certainly don’t think it changed anyone’s perception of it [the incident].” In the minds of professionals such as Boynton and other journalists, his apology didn’t cut it. It seems to be apparent that these comments should not be tolerated in American news media, but the real question is how do they impact Americans' already negative perception of the media? 

I asked Boynton this question, specifically relating to America's 34% approval rating of the media, a near-record low for all time. Her response was “when you screw up at some point you need to take accountability, take responsibility for whatever it is you're going to improve going forward.” She went on to say that Lemon didn’t really take any accountability for his actions and that this wasn’t necessarily a problem that solely pertained to him. She called Americans’ distrust in the news “legitimate” and suggested taking a step back and truly examining the role of the news media. She mentioned that when she began her career, the news media were “. . . what’s referred to as gatekeepers,” and that “. . . they were the ones who would determine what was worthy of being on the news and they would sort through everything and then tell us [the public] was most important.” Nowadays, with the emergence of social media, that has completely changed. 

In today’s world, social media reports on nearly every issue before the media does. This fundamentally alters what the media’s original role was supposed to be – that of gatekeepers. In response, the media has shifted in a variety of different directions, oftentimes reporting on media from competitors only to bash it. Television news is now more about analysis of news, or putting a certain spin on things, than it ever has before. Every station has always put its own spin on topics. But, in today’s climate, major news organizations have made this distinction even harsher. Networks such as Fox News are generally perceived to be conservative whereas networks such as MSNBC are perceived to be largely liberal. For example, Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch admitted to colluding with the Trump administration to give them early access to Biden’s campaign segments. He also admitted to pedaling false narratives about the results of the election and giving a platform to others who perpetrated this false information. This admittance only furthered the public’s perception of Fox as a conservative network and shook the public’s trust even further.  Transparency and truth are the number one news value according to the Society of Professional Journalism Code of Ethics, a statement of abiding principles for journalists. Yet, this fact seems to be lost in the current media age. Another news value is accountability. While Murdoch may have owned up to his mistakes, Lemon has yet to take full accountability for his actions. If journalists and the news media as a whole continue to ignore the standards that have guided them for decades, they may guide news media further away from the public and the principles it is supposed to stand for.