Don Lemon’s Comments on CNN About Women In “Their Prime” Hit A Sour Note With Nikki Haley (And All Women Everywhere)

By Liz Kocan @lizburrito
Published Feb. 16, 2023, 3:22 p.m. ET

More On:

don lemon

CNN anchor Don Lemon came under fire today for making some pretty sexist comments about women, and has issued an apology after being called out by his colleagues and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.

While in conversation with his CNN This Morning co-hosts Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow earlier today, Lemon discussed Nikki Haley’s idea of having “mandatory mental competency tests” for presidential candidates over the age of 75. Haley has stated, “America is not past our prime — it’s just that our politicians are past theirs.”

This prompted Lemon to respond, “This talk about age makes me uncomfortable. I think it is the wrong road to go down. She says that people, politicians or something are not in their prime. Nikki Haley is not in her prime, sorry, when a woman is considered to be in her prime is her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.” Haley is 51.

Harlow then asked, “Prime for what?”

“It depends,” Lemon responded, and then these words came out of this journalist’s mouth:. “It’s just like prime, if you look it up. If you Google, ‘when is a woman in her prime, it will say, ’20s, 30s and 40s.'”

“Are you talking about prime for, like, childbearing? Or are you talking about prime for being president?” Harlow asked.

“Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just saying what the facts are,” Lemon said, misconstruing whatever his point is for actual facts. “Google it. Everybody at home, when is a woman in her prime? It says 20s, 30s and 40s. I’m just saying Nikki Haley should careful about saying that politicians are not in their prime, and they need to be in their prime when they serve. She would not be in her prime according to Google, or whatever it is.”

Lemon held fast to the idea of women having a “prime” era of their lives, and though he was likely referring to their child-bearing years and not their mental, physical or political prowess, he did not try to differentiate between those ideas. (Sorry, but as a journalist, he could have clarified what he meant rather than saying, “It depends,” and adding, “Google it.”)

The discourse prompted Haley to tweet, “Liberals can’t stand the idea of having competency tests for older politicians to make sure they can do the job. BTW it’s always the liberals who are the most sexist.”

CNN podcast host Audie Cornish, who appeared on CNN This Morning in a later segment, also pushed back against Lemon’s comments, saying, “political prime is what we’re talking about here,” not “sexual and reproductive prime,” clearly articulating that there is a difference, something Lemon never tried to do when he consistently referred to women being in their prime.

In the hours since the show aired, Lemon has issued an apology, saying, “The reference I made to a woman’s ‘prime’ this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it. A woman’s age doesn’t define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day.”

While the apology is appreciated, the fact that he turned Haley’s comments into an issue targeting women of a certain age, and not just all political candidates, are a problem. It’s lazy and sexist, and it serves as another example of what women, and particularly women in politics, have to endure: baseless comments that have nothing to do with their policies or points on view.

Come on, Don. We should be judging Haley on her human rights violations, not her age.