A comedian reminded CNN of a tough time in its past Tuesday night when hosts Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen offered him a chance on New Year’s Eve.
“Oh, no. No, I don’t know. The last black man who drank on this network was fired,” said Roy Wood Jr., known for his appearances on “The Daily Show.” “I’m going to preserve it with water now. I need some stability.”
Wood appeared to be referring to former host Don Lemon, who participated in the network’s New Year’s special during the run and drank during the coverage. However, Times Square guests Michael Ian Black and Amber Ruffin didn’t turn down the offer of a drink.
Wood co-hosts CNN’s weekly Saturday comedy quiz show “Have I Got News for You” with Black and Ruffin.
Don Lemon backs online backlash from Trump supporters: ‘It’s too bad’
comedian roy wood jr. (ABC)
Lemons was fired from CNN in 2023 after a series of controversies and struggles with the new AM show “CNN This Morning.”
The left-leaning host was ousted from prime time and became part of then-CEO Chris Licht’s three-person hosting team for a revamped morning show that never got off the ground.
In 2023, Lemon angered colleagues at the network by suggesting that Nikki Haley, then 51, was no longer “in her prime.” At the time, Haley spoke presciently about President Biden’s age, a year before Biden was forced out of the race by members of his own party.
Lemon lasted another two months, then Lichter abandoned him. Licht himself was deported in June of that year.
Lemon has made headlines recently for his blistering attacks on Donald Trump supporters, as some of his supporters are divided over the H-1B visa issue.
Liberal media commentator slams Trump supporters for ‘Trumpism’: ‘Greed meets hate’
Don Lemon recently took aim at Donald Trump supporters in a rant. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images Congressional Black Caucus Foundation | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“You’re co-opted because you’re in a fucking cult and you don’t even realize it because you have a stupid MAGA brain and you don’t understand,” he said. “How stupid, how stupid are you?”
He stood by his comments on his YouTube show on Tuesday, calling his critics “nonsense.”
“I’m not talking about all Trump supporters,” Lemon said. “I’m talking to MAGA-minded people who will say anything and do anything to excuse any behavior from Donald Trump, any bad behavior from the MAGA movement.”
He continued, “So, yeah, I stand by my words! If you don’t like what I say, that’s too bad, I don’t care!”
Lemon also accused Trump supporters of “hypocrisy” in defending their “cult leader” while attacking his language.
“You’re just such a mess. You expect more from me, an independent journalist, a former cable news host, than you expect from the guy sitting in the Oval Office. Because his mouth is worse than mine,” Lemons said.
Lemon also attacked Time magazine last month for choosing Trump for the magazine Person of the Yearcalling the choice a “joke.”
Scott Jennings clashes with CNN host over criticism of Musk’s foreign dealings
Former CNN host Don Lemon appeared on MSNBC last year. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
“If they want to make someone person of the year, I don’t know, they can do that to anyone. They can do that to someone who truly represents democracy, represents the democracy of this country,” lemon says.
Click here to get the Fox News app
Fox News Digital’s Kendall Tietz, Brian Flood and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
