Don Lemon Under Fire For Calling Charlie Kirk ‘Discriminatory And Ignorant’

Disgraced former CNN anchor Don Lemon injected himself into the debate around Charlie Kirk’s death with comments referring to the late conservative activist as “discriminatory” and “ignorant” in his belief system.

Lemon, who briefly launched a show on X before quitting the platform, hasn’t managed to make much news since his controversial 2024 interview with Elon Musk. But he roared back in a big way on Monday when he fumed that supporters of Kirk are being “irrational” in their disdain for his critics.

Black conservatives who liked Kirk are “few and far between,” Lemon alleged. “For the most part, people don’t understand all this – ‘what are these flags at half-staff for?'” he continued, referencing President Donald Trump’s order that flags nationwide be lowered in honor of Kirk.

“Most people had no idea who Charlie Kirk was, by the way. You know that, right?” he continued.

Contrasting his time as a college student with today’s charged political atmosphere, Lemon contended that a “cancel culture on the right” is fueling online efforts to expose critics of Kirk.

“The hypocrisy on the right about free speech is, I mean, it’s just off the charts,” he said. “Think about it: If you actually believe in what Charlie Kirk said he believed in… then why are you out to cancel people who are using their First Amendment right of free speech to tell you how they feel about Charlie Kirk by using his own words?”

“It doesn’t make sense, because Charlie Kirk didn’t make sense, and so the response is irrational.”

Megyn Kelly, Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-NC), and other conservative commentators are struggling with how to frame Kirk’s suspected murder, Lemon alleged. But assigning some explanation to Tyler Robinson’s horrific action is building a “myth on a myth.”

“The things that came out of Charlie Kirk’s mouth were — much of it was hurtful, discriminatory, ignorant, and I’ll stop there, to say the least,” he added.

WATCH:

Lemon has firsthand knowledge of how his criticisms of Kirk may carry repercussions. He was dismissed from CNN for a variety of comments, including an on-air sexist quip about Nikki Haley’s age, misogyny, and mistreatment of female colleagues.

But after 17 years safely ensconced at the same network and earning millions of dollars a year in its talent stable, Lemon has struggled to adjust to eating what he catches on the open market.

His X program collapsed after Musk quit mid-interview when Lemon grilled him about his ketamine use. The two had previously reached an exclusive agreement for Lemon to become one of the most recognizable mainstream media figures to post his content exclusively on Musk’s social media platform.