Don Lemon returning to CNN show Wednesday after ‘frank’ talk with boss

CNN anchor Don Lemon will be back on the air Wednesday morning and will undergo “formal training” after his return over sexist comments he made last week, according to multiple reports.

The development was shared with staff in a Monday night memo from CNN boss Chris Licht, who said he had a “frank and meaningful conversation” with Lemon, who’s been absent as co-host of “CNN This Morning” since last Friday.

A day earlier, Lemon controversially remarked on air that 51-year-old GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime.”

Lemon’s comments drew immediate blowback and he didn’t appear on the show with co-hosts Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow Friday or Monday, but will be back Wednesday, per the internal memo viewed by the Wall Street Journal.

Licht said in the memo Lemon will “participate in formal training,” after he’s back, according to the newspaper.

“I sat down with Don and had a frank and meaningful conversation. He has agreed to participate in formal training, as well as continuing to listen and learn. We take this situation very seriously,” Licht said in the memo obtained by Fox News Digital. 

“It is important to me that CNN balances accountability with a fostering a culture in which people can own, learn and grow from their mistakes. To that end, Don will return to CNN This Morning on Wednesday,” Licht additionally said, according to Fox News.

Lemon’s comments came after he responded to Haley’s call for mental competency tests for politicians older than 75 during her presidential kickoff last Wednesday.

“This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable,” Lemon said. “I think it’s the wrong road to go down. She says people, you know, politicians are suddenly not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry — when a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”

Lemon apologized later that day on Twitter, and then to CNN staff on a call Friday. On that same call, Licht called Lemon’s statements “unacceptable.”

A CNN spokesperson told the New York Times Monday night that “the company has a number of resources and Don is committed to our recommendation.”

The spokesperson did not say more because it is a personnel matter.