Don Lemon Has Awkward Exchange With 'CNN This Morning' Co-Anchor Poppy Harlow, Calls Her Annoyingly Optimistic & Admits He's A Nightmare
Don Lemon did it again. Not only did he match his co-star-turned-enemy Kaitlan Collins' wardrobe again, but he had another awkward exchange on air that left viewers cringing ahead of the weekend — this time, going after his other co-host Poppy Harlow, RadarOnline.com has learned.
All eyes have been on Lemon, 56, after it was discovered he had an intense showdown with Collins, 30, in which he "screamed" at her and accused her of "interrupting" him following their broadcast on December 8.
Rumor has it that Lemon's temper tantrum in front of their co-workers left Collins — CNN's youngest chief White House Correspondent — "visibly upset" and CNN staffers "shaken."
Collins reportedly "wants to be on set with Don as little as possible" after the altercation.
While he should be on his best behavior, Lemon seemingly repeated the offense on live television Friday. The trio sat together while interviewing comedian Marc Maron, who noticed the unhinged exchange and addressed the tenseness in the room after Lemon essentially called Poppy annoyingly optimistic and admitted he's not pleasant at times.
The weird showdown can be heard around the 3:37 mark of the video, in which Lemon seemingly begins by paying Poppy a compliment — then it goes downhill.
"Poppy is the most optimistic and upbeat person, and I come in and I'm like, 'Grrr,'" he said while imitating a growling bear.
Interrupting him, Poppy didn't hesitate to throw her male co-anchor under the bus by saying, "He growls at me some mornings." The comedian kept the exchange going by asking if she was "annoyingly optimistic." Lemon's failure to respond caused Collins to chime in.
"No. No, not at all!" she said, prompting Lemon to joke, "Yes. No."
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Continuing to stick up for Poppy, the only other female at the table said, "It's like ambitious and lovely." That's when Poppy thanked Collins for backing her up.
The guest noticed the fire dumpster he created and pointed out the awkward energy in the room.
"I feel like I'm starting something," Marc told the CNN This Morning co-anchors, most likely not knowing the tension that's been brewing between the trio behind the scenes.
As RadarOnline.com exclusively reported, Lemon had a second explosion, losing it on CNN staffers after a story about his altercation with Collins was featured in the company newsletter last week.
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"Don lost his mind internally and went ballistic at staffers after the CNN newsletter highlighted a story about him screaming," one well-placed source spilled on Friday.
On Tuesday, Lemon had his third outburst, criticizing one of Collin's interviews and even delaying a commercial break to speak his mind.
CNN This Morning chose not to comment when RadarOnline.com reached out.
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