Megyn Kelly isn’t excited about Don Lemon’s return to broadcasting, following the announcement of his new X (formerly Twitter) news series on Tuesday.
On Thursday’s episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show,” she the host said that the only attention she plans to give Lemon is her negative commentary. “I’m not rooting for him,” she said.
“Our old pal Don Lemon has resurfaced, or is about to resurface. And I realize that the magnanimous move is to say, ‘Good for Don. He got cancelled off of CNN, and now he’s reinventing himself on X,’” Kelly said. Unfortunately for Lemon, Kelly is apparently not feeling all that magnanimous.
“Well, that’s not what I say! I think he’s disgusting, he hates America, he hates Republicans and I’m not looking forward to his voice reemerging other than to mock it, which I 100% plan to do,” she said.
Kelly’s remarks come after Lemon shared the news that he would be coming back to screens with a new show after signing a video content deal the Elon Musk-owned social media platform. The former “CNN This Morning” coanchor was fired from the network in April 2023 after a 17-year stint at the organization. A person with knowledge previously told TheWrap that the decision wasn’t personal or related to anything but was instead business-focused. However, the individual did mention that internal research showed Lemon was “not working” with CNN’s female-skewing morning audience.
Lemon’s firing came after he made controversial remarks about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley not being “in her prime,” as he felt a woman is “said to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe 40s.”
Back on her podcast, Kelly dove deeper into her apparent hatred for Lemon, listing off the reasons why she refuses to stomach him.
“I just have a little reminder for you of who Don Lemon is and why we can’t stand him!” Kelly exclaimed. She then showed a montage of clips from the journalist’s time on CNN, which included him giving his opinion on several topics, including Donald Trump and COVID-19 anti-vaxxers.
“He was off the air for two minutes and now now people are like, ‘Oh, maybe he’s seen the light,’” Kelly said. “‘You know, maybe he’s going to come back more fair and balanced.’ Oh, sure. Sure, Jan! I mean, bulls–t. He’s shown us who he is. Believe him.”
Kelly continued: “This is not someone who I’m rooting for. I’m not saying he should never be allowed to speak again. I’m just saying I don’t have to personally cheerlead it, or think it’s a good thing, or recognize that this is some sort of important voice in the conversation and yay for Elon for making it possible for him to come back. He’s a prick and he f–king hates Republicans … It shows that it’s not just a partisan thing … Don Lemon truly hates the right half of the country. Hates. And would love to see almost all of them canceled who voted for Trump. So no, I’m not rooting for him in any way, shape or form.”
Lemon shared his announcement on X on Tuesday, saying he’s “back, bigger, bolder, freer!”
“I’ve heard you … and today I am back, bigger, bolder, freer! My new media company’s first project is ‘The Don Lemon Show,’” Lemon said. “It will be available to everyone, easily, whenever and where you want it, streaming on the platforms where the conversations are happening. And you’ll find it first on X, the biggest space for free speech in the world. I know now more than ever that we need a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors. This is just the beginning so stay tuned.”
Watch Kelly’s full diatribe against Lemon in the video above.
