Blaze TV host Jason Whitlock, who ESPN once fired, shared his perspective on the recent controversy surrounding Don Lemon’s comments about Nikki Haley during his “Fearless with Jason Whitlock” podcast. According to Whitlock, Lemon’s remarks implied that Haley was past her prime, so Lemon’s future is on shaky ground at CNN.
Whitlock cautioned that any action taken by the network must be carefully considered due to Lemon’s status as a member of the protected LGBTQIA+ community. He shared his own experience of being pushed out by a major network, which he claims ginned up controversy out of nothing to make everyone believe it was significant. Whitlock believes that CNN is walking Lemon through a “suicide mission.”
Whitlock criticized Lemon, asserting that he only has his job on TV because of his status in the LGBTQIA+ community. “That’s his only qualification, and he’s got the other one which CNN favors; he’s black,” Whitlock claimed. “He’s mainly there because he checks that alphabet box.”
Last year, CNN overhauled its morning show by adding Don Lemon as a co-anchor, and he now works alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. Despite his prominence at CNN, Whitlock called Lemon “stupid” and claimed he was too incompetent for the job.
The controversy arose when Lemon objected to Haley’s suggestion of annual mental competency tests for politicians over 75. During the broadcast, Lemon tried to explain that he had searched on Google for the age range of a woman’s prime, which according to the search results, was in her 20s, 30s, and 40s.
In response to the criticism, Lemon apologized to CNN staff and the public, acknowledging that his remarks were poorly expressed and inconsequential. However, his announcement that he would not co-host the show on Friday was unrelated to the recent backlash he received.
Whitlock’s comments suggest that Lemon’s position at CNN may be in jeopardy due to his controversial remarks about Haley. While Whitlock believes that Lemon’s status in the LGBTQIA+ community may make it more difficult for CNN to act against him, he ultimately argues that Lemon is not competent for the job and is only there because of his status in the alphabet community.
“The qualifications we’re looking for have nothing to do with competency. Don Lemon being the idiot he is, wanted to make a statement. He competes with women, so he wanted to point to men, particularly white men, that if you want something in their prime, men last longer than women,” added Whitlock.
