People Who Can't Stand Former CNN Personality Don Lemon

Don Lemon's beef with Donald Trump reached epic proportions in early 2026, when the president called for the journalist's arrest. However, Trump is far from Lemon's only foe. He actually has a fairly long list of enemies (though it bears mentioning, many of them stood up for the CNN alum immediately following his arrest). Of course, we have to start with the divisive politician himself. Lemon has long been outspoken in his criticism, and to say Trump noticed would be a massive understatement. He even complained about Lemon's show during a 2017 press conference. 

As he lamented to Jim Acosta, "Look at your show that goes in at 10 o'clock in the evening. You just take a look at that show [...] The panel is almost always exclusive anti-Trump. The good news is he doesn't have good ratings. But the panel is almost exclusive anti-Trump, and the hatred and venom coming from his mouth," (via Entertainment Weekly). The following year, things heated up. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Trump complained about Lemon's interview with athlete LeBron James, who openly criticized him, undermining both men's intelligence with the burn, "He made LeBron look smart, which isn't easy to do." 

The president continued to poke at Lemon in the years that followed, though it was in 2026 that things seriously escalated. In the wake of Lemon's coverage of the ICE protests in Minneapolis, the controversial leader reposted an X user's sentiments to Truth Social, effectively calling for Lemon to be imprisoned. Once the journalist actually was arrested, Trump claimed he didn't know anything about it. But, while speaking to the press on Air Force One, the president argued that Lemon should be happy, because the arrest would get him more viewers. 

It may come as a surprise to some that once upon a time, Megyn Kelly cherished her bond with Don Lemon, even gushing in a piece for Variety that they had: "A beautiful friendship." Sadly, as is probably obvious now, that friendship didn't last. Tensions between the two started after Megyn Kelly's blackface comments in 2018, with Lemon criticizing the fact that NBC had hired her in the first place and pointing out that her ratings weren't even particularly high. Unsurprisingly, Kelly had a field day a few years later when the former CNN host faced on-air controversy of his own after Lemon made problematic comments about Nikki Haley. For one, she lamented the fact that offending women on-air seemed not to be taken as seriously. 

That said, Kelly also came to Lemon's defense (kind of) after he was dismissed by CNN, calling the network's approach to his firing "classless" on "The Megyn Kelly Show." Granted, she prefaced by making it clear she didn't like him, clarifying, "Everybody knows I'm not exactly Don Lemon's fan." Things escalated even further in January 2024, when, while discussing Lemon's X show, Kelly quipped, "I realize that the magnanimous move is to say, 'Good for Don, he got canceled off CNN, and now he's reinventing himself on Twitter.' Well, that's not what I say. I think he's disgusting, he hates America, he hates Republicans, and I'm not looking forward to his voice re-emerging, other than to mock it, which I 100% plan to do," (via YouTube). 

Yikes. Kelly and Lemon continued throwing shady jabs at each other and suffice it to say that she wasn't among those upset about his 2026 arrest. In fact, Kelly actively called for him to be jailed. 

Megyn Kelly isn't the only one of Don Lemon's former friends to have soured on him. Far from it, Lemon famously fell out with another famous pal and ex-colleague, Chris Cuomo. Once upon a time, their bromance was legendary. Who can forget Lemon crying on air while speaking about Cuomo's COVID-19 diagnosis, or the time he joked on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that Cuomo knew his mom, and that he thought she preferred his friend over him? Unfortunately, though, things took a turn for the worse amid Cuomo's 2021 firing from CNN, and he's hinted at Lemon not being there for him as Cuomo's professional life took a hit. 

In a 2025 appearance on the "PBD Podcast," the disgraced anchor acknowledged that Lemon had called to check on him, but that it hadn't been enough in his view, particularly given how alarming Cuomo's frame of mind was around that time. He also shared that while he didn't judge Lemon for keeping some distance if that was what his values dictated, Cuomo couldn't get past it — and more than that, he knew Lemon wasn't sorry anyway. "You think he's going to apologize to me? [...] I have nothing but good stuff for him. I hope good things. I am a loyalty guy, okay? That's the end of the analysis for me [...] You're a ride or die, or you're not," he reasoned. 

True to his word, Cuomo did defend Lemon after his arrest. Even then, though, he didn't exactly hint at the ice thawing. As the former CNN star shared on YouTube, while he backed Lemon as a fellow journalist, "We used to be close, now we're not. And there's good reason for that."

When Don Lemon's X show was first announced, Elon Musk was thrilled about it. Reposting a statement from @XBusiness announcing the platform's partnership with him, the tech billionaire enthused, "Don Lemon show coming to X!" Unfortunately, his excitement was short-lived. The drama between Don Lemon and Elon Musk began when the former interviewed the businessman for "The Don Lemon Show." Things grew increasingly tense after the journalist began asking questions about posts Musk had shared or quoted about illegal immigration, and the X owner became visibly annoyed when Lemon questioned whether stronger content moderation on the social media platform might mean he didn't have to waste time clarifying his views to reporters. 

To that, Musk snapped, "I don't have to answer questions from reporters. Don, the only reason I'm doing this interview is because you're on the X platform and you asked for it. Otherwise, I would not do [...] this interview." Things escalated again when Lemon asked about the tech billionaire's comments on advertisers threatening to leave if posts were not monitored more closely for hate speech. "Choose your question carefully. There's five minutes left," he warned.

The CNN alum continued to ask about Musk's stance, though he also said a few times that he wasn't trying to catch him out for anything. However, the SpaceX founder clearly wasn't convinced. The show was ultimately cancelled by Musk within hours of the interview — and Lemon called him out on it in a (since-deleted) statement on the site. "His commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems to not include questions of him from people like me," he wrote at the time (via People).

Somewhat surprisingly, Don Lemon and his "CNN This Morning" co-host Kaitlan Collins had some major behind-the-scenes drama circa 2022. In February 2023, the New York Post ran a story about a serious blow-up between the two colleagues on the set of their morning show the previous December. According to an insider, Lemon was furious at Collins for speaking over him. And, once the broadcast had wrapped, "Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio." Lemon was asked to take the next day off, which he did. But, another source dished that Lemon, Collins, and their co-star Poppy Harlow had all planned to meet up ahead of that year's White House Christmas party and walk in as a unit, but they ended up cancelling.

The co-hosts spent very little time together in the months that followed, partly because Collins started working as CNN's Washington correspondent in January 2023. Even so, while a spokesperson for the network clarified that that that was planned anyway, other sources nevertheless pointed out that it was also very convenient given the situation. 

"At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible. It's messy," one such insider divulged. It's worth noting that despite the rumored drama, both Lemon and Collins have remained publicly respectful of one another. In fact, they even seemed to be getting on great at the CNN Heroes event red carpet just a few days after the rumored fight took place.

Don Lemon's feud with Jonah Hill started with an awkward in-person encounter. Back in 2012, the CNN personality complained on X that the Oscar nominee seemingly hadn't recognized him. "Said hi to @jonahhill in hotel. Think he thought i was bellman. Didn't know his name til bellman told me. A lesson to always be kind," he wrote in a since-deleted post (via E! News). Hill didn't take too kindly to being put on blast in such a public way and replied, "I said hi what do you want me to do move in with you? I was in a hurry. Didn't realize you were a 12 year old girl. Peace." Perhaps the "Superbad" star felt bad about his initial message, or maybe he just wanted to provide more context, because a little while later, Hill followed up with another message. 

"@DonLemonCNN i walked out of the restroom and found you waiting for me. Shook hands, said hi and was on my way. Sorry if you found that rude," the actor wrote. Lemon wasn't quite done, though, tweeting, "@JonahHill Was waiting for luggage. Bellman & I laughed at how self-important u were. Just being honest. Be nice. Stardom is fleeting." The journalist later addressed the back-and-forth in an appearance on "George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight," clarifiying, "I don't have beef with Jonah Hill at all." However, Lemon acknowledged that he'd found the actor's reply uncalled for, and prior to that he'd found the situation funny. Hill didn't respond.