The Tuesday after the ladies of The View celebrated Tucker Carlson leaving Fox News, the ABC hosts vigorously defended ousted CNN anchor Don Lemon, who was reportedly fired for his treatment of female co-workers and deplorable on-air behavior and comments. Lemon’s friends leapt to his defense by arguing it couldn’t be true because “he loves his mom” and loves them.
“CNN also announced they’re parting ways with one of their biggest on-air male personalities: Don Lemon. Now, there's speculation that the longstanding rumors of him creating a toxic work environment, especially for some of the female co-workers,” moderator Whoopi Goldberg announced with an air of skepticism.
Staunchly racist co-host Sunny Hostin, who admitted Lemon has been a “friend for 20 years,” immediately rushed to defend him. According to her, Lemon couldn’t treat his female co-workers badly because “he loves his mom” and members of the cast:
Our offices were directly across from each other for most of that time that I worked there. And I will say that I don't believe in my experience with him that he's a misogynist. I think he loves women. He loves his mother. He loved his sister. He loves me. He loves Joy.
She was also irritated that people were comparing Lemon’s firing to Carlson’s and kept calling it a “false equivalency.”
Even though The View previously defended Lemon’s sexist and ageist attack against former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Hostin boasted that “he apologized” (untrue) and “received formal training.”
Co-host Joy Behar built off of Hostin’s condemnation of the Lemon/Carlson comparison because the former had “been on the air a long time fighting bigotry, whereas Tucker has been fomenting bigotry.” She also asserted that Lemon’s terrible on-air behavior was just “some dumb things” he said. “And apologized. Tucker never apologized for anything,” Hostin interjected.
Hostin’s talk of who Lemon loved on the set sparked a bizarre fit of sarcastic jealousy from co-host Sara Haines who made it a point to repeatedly note that Lemon loved her too (click “expand”):
HAINES: What about me?
[Laughter]
HOSTIN: Maybe he loves you too.
JOY BEHAR: And you too. She stayed at his house once.
HAINES: I think he loves me too.
(…)
HAINES: He loves me.
[Laughter]
BEHAR: And he loves her. She needs to hear that over and over again.
(…)
GOLDBERG: I've known Don forever too. I didn't work with him. We're just friends.
HAINES: Does he love you?!
GOLDBERG: No.
[Laughter]
GOLDBERG: But he likes the hell out of me.
Haines went on to suggest that Lemon wasn’t really fired for his behavior but rather a natural result of new management at CNN. “We've watched as new management comes in and you say goodbye to a lot of people. When new bosses come in, a lot of people go out, deservedly so or not,” she said. “I feel like, in some ways, the writing was on the wall when the new management came.”
Nearing a commercial break, Goldberg took a confusing swipe at CNN for giving Lemon a second chance with a morning show. “If you're concerned that somebody is a misogynist, why would you put them with two women to do a show if you feel that way,” she huffed. Hostin agreed.
The View’s defense of Don Lemon in the face of serious allegations was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from AARP and Angi. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
April 25, 2023
11:15:56 a.m. EasternWHOOPI GOLDBERG: CNN also announced they’re parting ways with one of their biggest on-air male personalities: Don Lemon. Now, there's speculation that the longstanding rumors of him creating a toxic work environment, especially for some of the female co-workers, along with some controversial on-air statements led to CNN cutting ties with him. Now, he says he was stunned by the news. Are you?
SUNNY HOSTIN: I am. And I know that I'm biased here, because Don is my friend. And he has been my friend for 20 years. Our offices were directly across from each other for most of that time that I worked there. And I will say that I don't believe in my experience with him that he's a misogynist. I think he loves women. He loves his mother. He loved his sister. He loves me. He loves Joy.
SARA HAINES: What about me?
[Laughter]
HOSTIN: Maybe he loves you too.
JOY BEHAR: And you too. She stayed at his house once.
HAINES: I think he loves me too.
HOSTIN: I am stunned. And I hate that people are comparing Tucker's firing with Don's firing. That’s a false equivalency.
BEHAR: That’s different.
HAINES: It’s very different.
HOSTIN: False equivalency. And, just to put a button on it. Don, yes, said some things that were sexist and I think ages. He apologized for them and received formal training. And he spoke to us about a lot of this.
BEHAR: And I know him too. We all know him here. Sara stayed at his house one time.
HAINES: He loves me.
[Laughter]
BEHAR: And he loves her. She needs to hear that over and over again. It’s fine. [Laughter]
But, you know, he's been on the air a long time fighting bigotry, whereas Tucker has been fomenting bigotry. So, there’s a big difference there. And yes, he did say some dumb things.
HOSTIN: And apologized. Tucker never apologized for anything.
BEHAR: But I only know him personally. I don't know what he does when he's with his co-workers.
HOSTIN: Well, I do because I was his coworker.
BEHAR: Yeah. Yeah.
HAINES: Well, I also think though – when you mentioned working in this business. We've watched as new management comes in and you say good-bye to a lot of people. When new bosses come in, a lot of people go out, deservedly so or not. It’s sometimes it’s just "I'm going to bring on my new team." I feel like, in some ways, the writing was on the wall when the new management came. In fact, a lot of people were surprised that Don would be staying. And they shifted him around moved him into different places.
So yes, he's had some missteps. He’s also apologized for those missteps, but I think in a way this was coming down the pike for a while.
(…)
11:18:42 a.m. Eastern
GOLDBERG: I will just say this. If you're concerned that somebody is a misogynist, why would you put them with two women to do a show if you feel that way.
HOSTIN: If you had that concern.
GOLDBERG: If you feel that concerned? So for me, it seemed odd when they gave him that show. And I thought, well, this seems a little strange. But you know, I've known Don forever too. I didn't work with him. We're just friends.
HAINES: Does he love you?!
GOLDBERG: No.
[Laughter]
GOLDBERG: But he likes the hell out of me. We will be right back.
