Don Lemon Will Return to CNN and Undergo 'Formal Training' After Sexist Comments
etonline.comDon Lemon will soon be returning to CNN after stirring up controversy with sexist remarks made last week.According to a memo sent out to CNN employees on Monday night, Lemon will undergo «formal training» as part of his return to his role as an anchor of «I sat down with Don and had a frank and meaningful conversation,» CNN CEO Chris Licht wrote in an email, CNN reports. «He has agreed to participate in formal training, as well as continuing to listen and learn.
We take this situation very seriously.»Lemon stirred controversy on Thursday when discussing South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's recently announced presidential candidacy and remarks she made calling for mental competency tests for presidential candidates over 75.Lemon addressed the remarks to his co-anchors -- Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins — and quipped that Haley, 51, «isn't in her prime» herself.
When pressed on the comment by his fellow anchors, Lemon doubled down, arguing, «If you Google 'when is a woman in her prime,' it’ll say 20s, 30s and 40s.»The remarks drew instant heat from critics and lead to Lemon not appearing on for the first two days of the week.
However, he is set to return to the show on 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 in his email to CNN staffers. «To that end, Don will return to on Wednesday.»Lemon first apologized publicly on Twitter on Thursday, after the episode in which he made the sexist comments, writing, «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.
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