Esteemed CNN anchor Don Lemon's f**ks are naturally diminishing as the years go by.
Fresh off the heels of the storied tradition of getting lit and living his best life during the CNN New Year's Eve broadcast, Lemon has now almost reached his limit with the racist foolery that comes across his news desk.
He recently sat down with fellow CNN anchor Chris Cuomo to discuss U.S. Representative Paul Gosar's (R-AZ) sharing of a fake photo of Barack Obama shaking hands with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Lemon was sure to mention how many Republicans seem to be obsessed with a president who's no longer in office.
1. This photo is a fake photoshop effort. Obama never met with @HassanRouhani. 2) Rouhani *is still* president of Iran. @DrPaulGosar is a US congressman but yet tweets out this kind of blatant misinformation. https://t.co/aRHuJh51vk— Daniel Medina (@dmedin11) January 6, 2020
It was too much for Lemon because he almost broke character when talking about the racist insinuations President Obama detractors always spew.
DON LEMON said he's, "Sick of that SHI-" ???? pic.twitter.com/37ZABPhbtU— Nicole Bad & Blerdy (@alamanecer) January 7, 2020
Lemon: They're feeding animus and bigotry.
Cuomo: You have to let him answer for himself.
Lemon: We tried. We called him, he wouldn't come on. So he won't answer because he's afraid.
Cuomo: Well he's not going to come on here, he's going to come on somewhere else and say, 'Look at how they're bashing this president – '
Lemon (imitating right-wing zealots): 'Everything is about race! What I did wasn't racist!' Even if it's the most racist thing, I'm so sick of sh…crap. Whoa.
Lemon looked off-camera, barely able to contain his laughter amid the slip-up. Cuomo pushed through and didn't make note of the potential no-no of cursing on-air, to his credit.
Twitter couldn't help but clock Lemon's descent into realness as a hilariously wild ride considering his brand just a few years ago.
The man cusses when he's fed up, rolls his eyes at silly people and gets drunk on air.
The Don Lemon of 4 years ago, is not the Don Lemon of today. pic.twitter.com/HAcirswVrj— Carolyn *Respect Black Women's Boundaries* Hinds (@CarrieCnh12) January 7, 2020
"The man cusses when he's fed up, rolls his eyes at silly people and gets drunk on air. The Don Lemon of 4 years ago, is not the Don Lemon of today," one user wrote.
He said “woah????” LMAOO Don was like lemme chill out— Deannaa (@callherdeanna) January 7, 2020
"He said 'woah' Don was like lemme chill out," laughed @callherdeanna.
The Don Limón slipped out ????????????— Flirt_McGirt (@Worst_Guyz) January 7, 2020
"The Don Limón slipped out," said one Twitter user.
Others noted how the Don Lemon of yesteryear was heavily entrenched in respectability politics, especially regarding Black presentation. In 2013, Lemon used his massive platform to list five steps he believed Black men must take to become respectable. Among those was "pulling your pants up."
Y'all remember when a lot of black folks ain't fool with this man at all this man had major character development a redemption arc on par with zuko— ????⚘Afrofairy96 ????⚘ (@afrojay96) January 7, 2020
"Y'all remember when a lot of black folks ain't fool with this man at all? This man had major character development, a redemption arc on par with Zuko," wrote one Twitter user, comparing Lemon to iconic Avatar character Prince Zuko.
As an elected official, I vote to remove the probationary hold from Brother Lemon’s Black card (with stipulations).— Derek (@The_Real_Derek1) January 7, 2020
"As an elected official, I vote to remove the probationary hold from Brother Lemon’s Black card (with stipulations)," suggested Twitter user Derek, about Don's Black card status.
From chastising Black America to cursing on-air about racism, it's hard to pinpoint where the change in Lemon's philosophy happened. But, we're here for it none the less.
Watch the full clip below:
