Don Lemon Doesn’t Address Nikki Haley Comments on the Air During CNN Morning Show Return

Don Lemon is back on CNN, and he’s sorry. Though viewers of CNN This Morning that have avoided social media may not have gotten the full picture.

The CNN This Morning co-anchor returned to the morning show Wednesday for the first time since he landed in hot water over comments he made last week about 2024 presidential hopeful and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. He did not, however, address or apologize for those comments on-air.

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But in a tweet Wednesday morning, Lemon wrote, “I appreciate the opportunity to be back on CNN This Morning 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.”

Lemon was off on Friday and also took off Monday. Monday evening, CNN CEO Chris Licht told staff that Lemon would undergo “formal training” and would return to the show Wednesday. “It is important to me that CNN balances accountability with fostering a culture in which people can own, learn and grow from their mistakes,” Licht wrote.

Lemon’s initial comments came as he was discussing a proposal from Haley to require all political candidates over 75 to undergo a mental competency test.

“Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry,” Lemon said. “A woman is considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s. If you Google ‘when is a woman in her prime,’ it’ll say 20s, 30s and 40s.”

He called into a CNN staff meeting on Friday to apologize (his comments angered a number of CNN employees, including his co-anchors on the morning show, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, a source says), but his comments Wednesday were meant to tamp down any further conflict.

CNN This Morning is one of Licht’s biggest bets since taking over the channel last year. The show launched four months ago, and has thus far failed to turn around CNN’s ratings fortunes in the morning. The show is also on its second executive producer, with Eric Hall having left to lead the 11 p.m. hour.

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