The news just keeps getting worse for CNN’s Don Lemon.
CEO Chris Licht may have just humiliated Lemon to a point where he may leave the network on his own, but it came after Lemon himself has been involved in a series of incidents that did not bode well for him professionally or the network he works for.
Last fall, Lemon was demoted by Licht from a primetime evening show where he served as the solo host to co-host a morning show with two female colleagues, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlin Collins.
He quickly made an enemy of Collins by treating her like garbage on the air and screaming at her off the air. But now it seems as though Collins will be getting the last laugh.
According to reports, Licht is handing Collins a primetime evening slot for a tryout and if she succeeds, she’ll move on to that slot instead and leave Lemon behind.
“I think it’s fair to say Chris Licht and leadership have been impressed,” a source close to network boss Licht told the New York Post.
“She’s his favorite,” said another source who said Collins’ rise has frustrated some network veterans including Lemon.
The Post reported earlier:
According to two sources with knowledge of the situation, 56-year-old Lemon approached 30-year-old Collins following the show’s Thursday, Dec. 8, broadcast — and unloaded on her in front of staffers as he accused her of “interrupting” him on air.
“Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio,” one source with knowledge of the skirmish said.
News of the explosive incident made its way up to CNN CEO Chris Licht, who is said to have been appalled by Lemon’s behavior, according to a source.
A second source said a producer talked to Lemon at the behest of Licht and told the anchor to take the next day off to “cool off.”
…“At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible,” a source with knowledge of the situation added. “It’s messy.”
Collins wasn’t always a staffer at a left-wing cable news outlet. She began her career in journalism at The Daily Caller, a decidedly conservative online publication.