Late-night host Bill Maher pushed back against Don Lemon after the ex-CNN anchor complained about having to live in uncomfortable spaces as a black, gay man.
Lemon made a guest appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher when Maher mentioned the recent uptick in antisemitic protests happening across college campuses in the United States. Lemon and Maher, along with fellow guest Scott Galloway, all condemned the protests, with Lemon arguing that a protest “teaches some of these students to deal with discomfort,” though he stressed he was “not minimizing what’s going on.”
“Listen, I’m different than you guys,” Lemon said. “You know, I’m a black, gay man, so I live in uncomfortable spaces all the time, and I think that’s a good lesson for college students.”
Maher then asked Lemon to elaborate on what he meant about living in uncomfortable spaces, with Lemon saying that he is typically the only person of color in a room. Maher then joked that “there’s only three of us here, come on,” prompting the audience to laugh.
The late-night host’s rebuttal of Lemon’s statement was praised by Caitlyn Jenner, who referred to Lemon as a “privileged, wealthy” celebrity and encouraged him to “get over yourself.”
Beyond the antisemitic college protests, Maher and his guests also discussed the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion, a topic that has received a growing number of critics in recent months. Lemon himself said there were some great things about DEI but that he also thinks it has “gone too far” and “become a religion,” warning that those who do not obey this religion “get kicked out of the church.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Lemon’s appearance on Maher’s show comes about a month after he launched his own show on X called The Don Lemon Show. It was intended to be part of a deal with X owner Elon Musk, but the deal was called off following an interview Lemon conducted with Musk.
The billionaire explained that he canceled his deal with Lemon because his show was “just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work.” Musk also clarified that Lemon will continue to receive ad revenue for posting his show on X.