A comedian reminded CNN of a difficult part of its past on Tuesday night when New Year's Eve hosts Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen showed him off.
“Oh no. No, I don't. The last black man to drink on this network has been fired,” said Roy Wood Jr., known for his appearances on the “Daily Show.” “I'll keep it with water for now. I need some stability.”
Wood appears to be referring to former host Don Lemon, who was part of the network's New Year's specials during his tour and was drinking during the coverage. However, Times Square guests Michael Ian Black and Amber Ruffin did not refuse to show the shot.
Wood co-hosts CNN's weekly Saturday comedy quiz show “Have I Got News for You” alongside Black and Ruffin.
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Comedian Roy Wood Jr (ABC)
Lemon has been released by CNN in 2023 following a series of controversies and conflicts witnessed by the newly launched AM program “CNN This Morning”.
The left-leaning host was ousted from his prime-time slot to become part of a three-person hosting team on then-CEO Chris Licht's revamped morning show, but the show never got off the ground.
Lemon angered his network colleagues in 2023 when he proposed to Nikki Haley, then 51, She's not “in her prime” anymore. At the time, Haley was speaking out about age concerns for President Biden, who was forced out of the race by members of his own party after a year.
Lemon lasted for another two months before Licht dropped him. Licht himself was shown the door in June of that year.
Lemon made recently Media headlines With his violent attack on Donald Trump's supporters amid division among part of his base over H-1B visas.
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Don Lemon went off on Donald Trump supporters in his latest speech. (Photo by Lee Vogel/Getty Images for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation | Photo by Chris Unger/Zova LLC)
“You were chosen because you belong to a fucking cult and you don't even realize it because you have a stupid MAGA brain and you don't understand it,” he said. “How stupid and stupid are you?”
He stood by his comments on his YouTube show on Tuesday, saying his critics were “retards.”
“I'm not referring to all Trump supporters,” Lemon said. “I'm talking to MAGA-minded people who will say and do anything to make excuses for any behavior by Donald Trump, or any bad behavior by the MAGA movement.”
He continued, “So yeah, I'm sticking by my words! And if you don't like what I said, that's too bad, I don't care!”
Lemon also pointed out the “hypocrisy” of Trump supporters attacking him for his language while defending their “sect leader.”
“That's how absurd you are. Your expectations of me, as a freelance journalist and former TV news anchor, are higher than you would of the person sitting in the Oval Office. Because his mouth is worse than mine,” Lemon said.
Lemon also attacked Time magazine last month for choosing Trump as its president Personality of the yearHe described the selection as a “joke.”
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Former CNN host Don Lemon during an appearance on MSNBC last year. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
“If they wanted to make someone Person of the Year, I don't know, they could have done it with anyone. They could have done it with someone who actually stands up for democracy, stands up for democracy in the country.” Lemon said.
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Fox News Digital's Kendall Tietz, Brian Flood and Lindsay Cornick contributed to this report.
