what did don lemon say about women

NPR says that on a February 2023 episode of “CNN This Morning,” Don Lemon said Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, then 51, “isn’t in her prime,” and added that a woman is “considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.” He later apologized on air and on social media, calling his reference to a woman’s “prime” “inartful and irrelevant” and saying a woman’s age does not define her worth.

What did Don Lemon say about women?

The core comment

During a discussion about Nikki Haley’s call for mental competency tests for politicians over 75, Don Lemon said:

• Haley “isn’t in her prime.”

• He then argued that “a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”

• When his female co‑hosts pushed back, he referenced internet search results as support and stuck to the phrasing in the moment.

These remarks were widely described as sexist and ageist, since they framed women’s “prime” as a narrow age window and reduced their value to that concept.

“A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.” — Don Lemon on “CNN This Morning,” February 2023

Backlash and immediate fallout

The reaction was fast and intense:

• Nikki Haley blasted the comments as sexist and used them to attack “liberals” for alleged double standards.

• Other politicians and commentators criticized the idea that women have an “expiration date” tied to age.

• CNN’s CEO Chris Licht reportedly called the comments “unacceptable” and “unfair” to Lemon’s co‑hosts during an internal meeting.

Publicly, the incident fed a broader narrative that Lemon had a pattern of tension with women on and off the air, which later reporting framed as part of a larger misogyny problem at CNN.

His apologies and explanations

Lemon issued a series of apologies and clarifications:

• On Twitter, he said his “prime” comment was “inartful and irrelevant” and that a woman’s age “doesn’t define her either personally or professionally.”

• In an internal CNN editorial meeting, he told colleagues he regretted what he said and understood why people were offended.

• He emphasized that he believed women of any age can achieve anything and noted that many of the people he works closest with are women.

In a later interview, Lemon argued he had been trying (clumsily) to reference how “society” views women’s prime years, not his own belief, and that this nuance was lost when the clip went viral.

Wider pattern and later coverage

The “women are in their prime” remark didn’t happen in a vacuum. Later reporting dug into Lemon’s history at CNN:

• Variety described allegations that he mocked and belittled female colleagues, sent hostile messages, and made derogatory comments about women behind the scenes.

• Sources quoted in that reporting said his offensive moments “almost always” seemed to land on women.

By April 2023, CNN announced it had parted ways with Lemon after 17 years, with many outlets explicitly tying the move to the uproar over his remarks about women and aging and his broader conduct.

How people are talking about it now

Online forums and comment sections continue to debate what he “really meant”:

• Some posters argue he was clearly talking about women’s physical or sexual “prime,” making the comment rude and irrelevant to Haley’s competence.

• Others say he clumsily referenced a cultural stereotype or search‑engine trope but still should have known better, especially in a live‑news setting.

The incident is now used as a case study in:

• How casual talk about women’s “prime” reinforces ageism and sexism.

• How one off‑the‑cuff line can become a defining career moment once it collides with social media and existing workplace allegations.

Mini SEO-style summary (for your post)

• Main phrase: Don Lemon said Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime” and that women are “considered to be in their prime in their 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”

• Why it blew up: The comment was slammed as sexist and ageist, clashed with live pushback from his female co‑hosts, and tapped into broader concerns about his treatment of women.

• Aftermath: He apologized multiple times but still faced mounting criticism, detailed negative reporting on his behavior toward women at CNN, and was eventually pushed out of the network.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.