Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, encountered a less-than-friendly audience during a street interview in New York City on Sunday. In his YouTube show, he faced off with a man who openly criticized him, accusing him of deceiving the public about his former network.
“You’re a f—- idiot, you’re a guy,” the man asserted as Lemon began his filming. Lemon also retorted, “Thank you. So too,” trying to maintain some composure.
As the conversation moved along, the man expressed his discontent, saying, “Oh, I’m so happy about what you say except that I’ve never heard anything I have to say.” Lemon tried to engage him further but was met with pushback. The man bluntly stated that both CNN and MSNBC were “full of s,” explaining he felt they were lying about various significant issues, including wars and genocide. When pressed for specifics, his answer was, “Well, they lie about genocide. They lie about all the wars.”
Lemon, aiming to clarify, dug deeper into his statements, but the exchange grew tense as the man told him not to interrupt. He criticized the media for allegedly protecting certain narratives, voicing his frustrations quite directly.
The atmosphere
was charged, with the interviewer getting more visibly irritated. The man continued to hurl insults, calling Lemon “stupid,” to which Lemon responded, “Why do you call me an idiot?” This prompted a rather casual, “It just came out, so man,” from the man.
Things didn’t settle down as Lemon asked, “And what do you think you are?” which only escalated the tension. The back-and-forth brought in more onlookers, one of whom labeled Lemon a “racist.” Lemon sarcastically acknowledged that title, saying, “Yeah, don’t waste your time with me, I’m a racist.” This new critic went even further, stating, “Yeah, you’re one of the biggest racists I’ve ever seen.” Lemon offered him the mic to voice his perspective, but the man declined.
The bickering continued, with the man asserting that Lemon was upset over Trump’s political victories. Lemon denied this, insisting, “I’m not mad because Trump won,” while the other man countered, “Yes, you are,” as he walked away.
