Celebs & News Anchors Former CNN Star Don Lemon Has Beefed With

After years in the trenches as an investigative journalist and regional news anchor, Don Lemon was tapped by CNN in 2006. Initially a correspondent, he began anchoring various shows on cable, eventually launching his own primetime news broadcast, "Don Lemon Tonight," before becoming part of "CNN This Morning."

It all came tumbling down in 2023 when Lemon was fired amidst a tsunami of controversy, ending a 17-year run at CNN. Nobody was more surprised by his sacking than Lemon himself. "I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN," he wrote in a since-deleted tweet (via CBS News). 

Since then, Don Lemon's CNN ousting didn't stop him from having fun — or from continuing to work as a journalist. Lemon eventually went independent with "The Don Lemon Show" on YouTube. Even in his new capacity, Lemon has continued to engage in public spats with various celebrities, a trait that shows no sign of abating. The following is a rundown of celebs and news anchors with whom former CNN star Don Lemon has feuded.

One of Don Lemon's longest-running feuds was with Donald Trump, spanning back to the latter's first term as president of the U.S. In February 2017, according to Entertainment Weekly, Trump called out Lemon during a White House press conference, accusing Lemon's show of being 
"anti-Trump" while griping about "the hatred and venom coming from his mouth." Trump's animosity toward Lemon had only increased by the following year, when he shared his opinion of Lemon's interview with LeBron James. "Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon," Trump tweeted. "He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do." Lemon fired back on his show. "Referring to African-Americans as 'dumb' ... is one of the oldest canards of America's racist past and present," Lemon said (via Facebook).

By early 2020, one might assume that Trump would be too consumed with matters of state to complain about a CNN anchor, but that assumption would be flat-out wrong. "Don Lemon, the dumbest man on television (with terrible ratings!)" tweeted Trump.

Trump's antipathy toward Lemon was as strong as ever during his second term as POTUS. After Lemon reported on an ICE protest, Trump dissed Lemon during a White House press conference, complaining that ICE agents had been "abused by guys like Don Lemon, who's, you know, a lightweight, a loser" (via Fox News). When Lemon was subsequently arrested on the behest of the Trump administration's Department of Justice and indicted on federal charges, it was clear that Lemon was still living rent-free in Trump's head when the president took the opportunity to gloat. "But he's a sleazebag," Trump said of Lemon, as reported by The National Desk. "He had no viewers," Trump added, referring to Lemon as "a failed host."

Nicki Minaj's immersion in the world of MAGA has puzzled her fans; in fact, when Minaj laid the Donald Trump love on thick, her fans' shady responses were deafening. After Don Lemon's 2026 arrest, the "Starships" singer piled on by issuing a nasty tweet in which she used a homophobic slur to refer to the openly gay journalist. "I WANT THAT THUG IN JAIL!!!!!" tweeted the singer. "LOCK HIM UP!!!!!"

Lemon issued a response via video which he posted to Instagram. "I usually don't respond to this stuff, but let me just say this," he began. Nicki Minaj, stop taking s*** for which you know nothing about. This is out of your depth, by the way, and you are a homophobic bigot." He also questioned whether she was in the country legally under the Trump administration's immigration policy. "You are reportedly an undocumented immigrant, so you should be deported under Donald Trump's rules." 

Lemon also took some time to point out that both Minaj's husband and brother are convicted sex offenders. "And you have the nerve to talk about me and what you think I do?" Lemon concluded his missive with a mic drop. "Nicki Minaj," he said, "get a life."

When taking a deep dive into Don Lemon and Megyn Kelly's bitter feud, it's clear there's no love lost between these two. Even though both were fired from high-profile gigs (Kelly was axed from NBC News in 2018 after her Blackface scandal, among other controversies that will always haunt Megyn Kelly), she viciously attacked Lemon during a 2024 episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show" and pulled no punches. "I think he's disgusting!" she declared. "He hates America, he hates Republicans, and I'm not looking forward to his voice re-emerging."

Kelly is also no fan of Lemon's fellow Black journalist Joy Reid. When her MSNBC show "The ReidOut" was cancelled, Kelly gleefully celebrated by tweeting, "Good riddance to the absolute worst person on television." Lemon issued a pithy response in an episode of his YouTube show. "Let me just say to Megyn Kelly ... go f*** yourself" (via ET). 

Some felt that Lemon crossed a line with a comment he made on Kelly's looks. "She looks trans," Lemon observed during an interview. "She looks clockable," he added, a term used to indicate that a trans person is visually identifiable as trans.

Arguably, among Don Lemon's most controversial moments was the assessment of former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley that he shared with CNN viewers. While anchoring "CNN This Morning" in 2023, he was discussing politics and age when he declared, "Nikki Haley is not in her prime. Sorry."

Haley responded with a scathing since-deleted tweet, writing, "To be clear, I am NOT calling for competency tests for Sexist middle-aged CNN anchors; only for people who make our laws and are 75+" (via Politico). The backlash was fast and furious. Lemon apologized during an editorial meeting. "I'm sorry that I said it," he said, as reported by CNN. "And I certainly see why people found it completely misguided."

The apology was ultimately not enough for Lemon to keep his job, and he was fired from CNN after 17 years. "CNN and Don have parted ways," CNN chairman Chris Licht said in a statement (via The New York Times). Meanwhile, Lemon claimed he'd been blindsided. "I am stunned," he wrote in a since-deleted tweet (via CBS News). "After 17 years at CNN, I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly."

Before his firing over his sexist comments about Nikki Haley, Don Lemon's co-anchor on "CNN This Morning" was Kaitlan Collins. Just a few weeks before his ignominious exit, there were reports of tension between the two journalists on the set of the morning show.

According to the New York Post, in December 2022, an ugly incident unfolded on the set when Lemon felt that Collins had been interrupting him on the air, and launched into a screaming tirade in full view of crew members. "Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio," a source told the newspaper. News of Lemon's inappropriate outburst made it to CNN chairman Chris Licht, who was reportedly so disturbed that he instructed a producer to confront Lemon and instruct him stay away from CNN's studios for a day so he could "cool off."

However, it seemed that by that point, the damage had been done to his relationship with Collins. "At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible," a source told the Post, adding, "It's messy." Given that alleged antipathy, it's likely that Lemon is among the people who can't stand Kaitlan Collins.

A 2023 exposé published in Variety detailed a laundry list of accusations about Don Lemon's misogynistic behavior toward women, pointing to a "diva-like attitude" demonstrating his belief that he was better than his co-workers.

According to Variety, Lemon was ticked off when hosting duties for a CNN special, "Black in America," were assigned to Soledad O'Brien, when he believed he should have been tapped as host. During an editorial call with several staffers, Lemon allegedly complained that O'Brien wasn't Black, with a source telling the outlet that Lemon "always wanted to be front and center on anything high profile, especially anything involving race."

While O'Brien was not among those who were on that particular call, she offered a scathing rebuke when asked for a comment. "Don has long had a habit of saying idiotic and inaccurate things," she told Variety, "so it sounds pretty on brand for him."

How people really feel about Piers Morgan is reflected in his long history of controversy. In Don Lemon's case, those feelings bubbled up to the surface in a very public forum when he appeared as a guest on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" in 2025.

During their discussion of cancel culture, the conversation grew heated after Morgan played a clip of Lemon's comments about Nikki Haley, which led to his firing. Lemon felt that he'd been ambushed by Morgan, and let him know it by telling Morgan that had he known that was the agenda, he likely would have refused the invitation to appear on the show.

"Piers, I think that's being completely disingenuous," Lemon tells Morgan, who responds by asking, "What are you talking about?" Lemon fires back chiding Morgan, asking, "Did you invite me here to interrupt or are you gonna let me..." Before Lemon can complete that sentence, Morgan interrupted him — which, arguably, proved Lemon's point. "I think you're being a complete d***, if I'm honest with you," Morgan declared.

In 2012, Don Lemon happened to bump into actor and director Jonah Hill in a hotel lobby — and proceeded to describe their interaction on social media. "Said hi to @jonahhill in hotel," Lemon tweeted (as documented by E! News, as the tweets of both men have long since been deleted). "Think he thought i was bellman. Didn't know his name til bellman told me. A lesson to always be kind." Lemon doubled down when he responded to a Twitter user by blasting Hill. "He was a tool," Lemon wrote.

Did Hill take the high road and ignore Lemon's barbs? He did not, and tweeted a response. "I said hi what do you want me to do move in with you? I was in a hurry. Didn't realize you were a 12 year old girl. Peace," Hill wrote. "Hardly," Lemon replied, "You're not my type. But I know rude. And u were."

Hill responded once again, writing, "i walked out of the restroom and found you waiting for me. Shook hands, said hi and was on my way. Sorry if you found that rude." Lemon had the last word when he tweeted, "Was waiting for luggage. Bellman & I laughed at how self-important u were. Just being honest. Be nice. Stardom is fleeting."

From the perspective of a viewer, it seemed as if Don Lemon and fellow CNN anchor Chris Cuomo enjoyed a friendly, collegial relationship with each other. The anchors' would often amiably chat during the "handover" as Lemon's show ended and Cuomo's began. That led the two to host their own podcast, "The Handoff." 

However, after Cuomo was fired due to claims he was offering advice to his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, he claimed that Lemon turned on him immediately. When appearing on the "Home Team" podcast, Cuomo was asked whether he'd reunite with Lemon for another podcast. 
"Why would I do it?" Cuomo replied.

Cuomo continued by accusing Lemon of disloyalty, insisting that their on-air bromance was nothing but an act for the cameras. "You think he's going to apologize to me?" Cuomo added. "I am a loyalty guy ... that's the end of the analysis for me ... You're ride or die, or you're not."

Given their respective political stances, left-leaning, openly gay Don Lemon and ultra-right conservative controversy magnet Candace Owens would seem to be natural enemies. That assumption, in fact, turned out to be right on the money when Owens appeared on "The Don Lemon Show" in July 2024.

During the hour-long exchange, the two clashed on multiple issues, ranging from claims that the 2020 election was rigged to the efficacy of vaccines. They clearly weren't seeing eye to eye on anything. 

When the openly gay Lemon pressed Owens on her views about same-sex marriage, however, that was when the sparks really flew. "It's a sin," Owens responded, which seemed to catch Lemon off guard. When Lemon asked her if she truly believed that he was being sinful because he was married to a man, she doubled down. "You're sinning. You're in a sinful relationship," she told him authoritatively. "I actually don't believe marriage can be between two men."

After Don Lemon was fired from CNN, the social media platform known as X entered into a deal to host Lemon's show. That partnership did not last long. In the first episode of "The Don Lemon Show" to appear on X, Lemon welcomed the platform's owner, billionaire Elon Musk, as his guest. The interview was contentious, with Musk erupting in fury over some of Lemon's questioning. 

Hours after the interview went live, Lemon's contract with X was abruptly terminated; his debut episode on X was also the last. "Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X," Lemon said in a since-deleted statement he posted on X (via Variety), also alleging that "Elon Musk is mad at me." A source at X, however, claimed that the real reason the company ditched Lemon was that he simply wasn't very good. "Don was underwhelming, unprepared and dull," the source told the New York Post.

Lemon fired back — or, rather, his lawyer did. Lemon sued Musk, with CNN reporting that Lemon's suit claimed Musk and his company lured Lemon to X "through false promises and representations," which allegedly included a promise to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in his show. "This case is straightforward," Lemon's attorney, Carney Shegerian, declared in a statement. "X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don's name through the mud. You don't have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here."

When Kanye West and wife Bianca Censori attended the 2025 Grammy Awards, rumors circulated that the pair were kicked out of the event because they hadn't been invited, and had allegedly crashed the function. Those rumors turned out to be false, but West believed the source of the fake news had been none other than Don Lemon. As Variety reported, West took aim at the journalist in a since-deleted post on Instagram accusing him of spreading the rumor.

Lemon, however, fired back with a scathing comment he shared on his YouTube Channel (via Variety). "I did not start a rumor about you being kicked out of the Grammys," Lemon said. "I actually corrected it. I saw someone on your team who asked me to correct it because it had been reported everywhere. First of all, get your s*** straight." Lemon concluded with a barb mocking his support of President Donald Trump, joking that West's "Make America Great Again hat must be too tight on your head."

That was far from the first time that Lemon has gone off on West. In a video he shared on YouTube, Lemon blasted West for a social media spree of "unhinged, crazy, racist" posts. "I just think, like, he's a narcissist, and he is just like Trump — playing us because he loves the attention."