TV Stars Who Are Still Close With Don Lemon After His CNN Firing

They say that you only know who your true friends are when the chips are down. The TV stars who are still close to Don Lemon after his CNN firing proved this point quite well. In February, Lemon came under fire for commenting that presidential hopeful Nikki Haley was past her prime. "I'm sorry that I said it. And I certainly see why people found it completely misguided," he later apologized, per CNN.

However, the writing was on the wall after Variety exposed Lemon's alleged misogyny and diva antics. "CNN and Don have parted ways. Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years," CNN Communications tweeted in April. Former co-anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins dedicated less than a minute of airtime addressing Lemon's cold CNN termination. Harlow read the network's official statement while Collins added a cursory farewell. "He was one of the first anchors on CNN to have me on his show. That's something I'll obviously never forget," she said.

Meanwhile, Lemon insisted he wasn't worried about his next career move. "I'm not going to force anything," he told ABC24 Memphis. "I'm not going to let other people's timelines influence me." Reports soon surfaced that he was eyeing a move to become the first male co-host on "The View."

After Don Lemon was axed from CNN after 17 years, few celebrities issued public sentiments of solidarity. "Everything Everywhere All At Once," star Michelle Yeoh threw some not-so-subtle shade at Lemon during her best actress Oscar acceptance speech in March. "Ladies, don't let anybody tell you you're ever past your prime," she said. "Michelle Yeoh calling out CNN's Don Lemon was not on my Oscar bingo card," Netflix writer P.T. Philben tweeted in response.

However, there are still some stars out there who remain close to Lemon. One of them is Joy Behar, who definitely falls into Lemon's past-her-prime category at 80 years old as of this writing. "Joy Ride," Lemon captioned an Instagram photo of Behar in the back of his car as he drove with his fiancé, Tim Malone. "Joyvbehar trying to protect her hairdo in a convertible. Futile. Quote: 'My hair was a mess the whole night, but I still looked good. Ha!'"

Behar is no stranger to controversy herself. Good Housekeeping listed the octogenarian's Halloween "Black face" photo controversy and when she seemingly threw Meghan McCain under the bus as two examples of her contentious behavior. Following Variety's shocking report accusing Lemon of misogyny and bullying female coworkers, Behar was quick to jump to his defense. "But I only know him personally," she conceded (via Fox News). "I don't know what he does when he's with his coworkers."

Joy Behar's "The View" cohost, Sunny Hostin, is another TV star still close to Don Lemon. "Don Lemon greets Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin from 'The View' to his home in Sag Harbor Hamptons New York on Saturday where he hosted a party for Sunny Hostin's new book, his partner Tim Malone was also spotted," read the caption of photographer Eldor Ordinez's candid pics of Lemon, Hostin, and Behar.

Ordinez's comments section was filled with responses from haters. "These are the people that cause the most problems in this country!!!" one wrote. "Excuse me while I gouge out my eyes," another opined. However, there was also some love being spread. "I miss Don so much. These are wonderful people," a fan commented. "Praying for all the hate people spew out these days for people they don't know personally. Love is the greatest gift," wrote another.

Meanwhile, Hostin has been a vocal supporter of Lemon. After he was fired from CNN, she shot down reports of Lemon's misogyny, insisting that he "loves women," per the Daily Beast. "I know that I'm biased here because Don is my friend. He's been my friend for 20 years," Hostin said. "Our offices were directly across from each other for most of that time that I worked [at CNN]. I don't believe, in my experience with him, that he's a misogynist. I think he loves women. He loves his mother. He loves his sister. He loves me."