After my last article, which chronicled how Howard Stern, over the last four or five years, has become a bit more sensitive and feelings over facts in his overall approach, maybe it is time for me to subscribe to HBO and start watching Bill Maher on Friday nights.
Read: Howard Stern's Biden Interview Was a Slobberfest With Another Jan. 6 Lie Repeated
Seems Bill, who is truly a traditional liberal at heart and does make sense on occasion, is making even people like Don Lemon move to a more rational position in today's screwed-up world.
Who would have thunk?
On Friday night's "Real Time with Bill Maher," former CNN star (tongue firmly pressed into my cheek while saying that) had a bit of a stunning revelation in regards to DEI.
Former CNN host Don Lemon offered tough words for the Diversity Equity and Inclusion crowd, warning that woke backers of the concept are moving off the reservation.
“There are some great things about DEI, but it’s not all roses and we need to take a look at it and do some rejiggering. It’s gone too far. It’s become a religion and if you don’t abide by the religion you get kicked out of the church,” Lemon said during an interview on “Real Time” with Bill Maher on Friday.
Now in appreciation of Lemon having a moment of clarity, I will forgive him for using a Native American term--of which I am one--and making such an insensitive remark.
He continued
“I am going to get a lot of s–t from liberals for saying what I said,” Lemon laughed. “I like DEI, but when it becomes a religion it can be used as a cudgel.”
Truly, miracles never cease.
Having followed Don Lemon and his opinions for several years over at CNN, this seems to be an incredible admission from a gent like him. In my opinion, Don was always been good for leading the charge or spinning a new story for a leftist cause being reported on, as being truly mainstream and/or just misunderstood by people who would object.
This moment of clarity is not his style but, possibly, there's something about being around Bill Maher that makes a leftist like Lemon see the light. I suppose much weirder things have happened in the world and If this is the case, then someone needs to bottle up the air or the water Bill is drinking--which could solve many of the world's problems.
However, there may be another reason for this small awakening by Don.
As my colleague Bob Hoge wrote about here a while back, maybe there is something else driving Don to be more mainstream:
Clearly, the interview must have been awkward, shall we say:
I welcome the opportunity to share #TheDonLemonShow on X and I challenge you @Elonmusk to actually watch it and then tell me it isn’t exactly what you said you want on your platform. Tune in March 18. https://t.co/HQwr0IXksN
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 15, 2024As the two continue lobbing accusations at each other, a new report from the NY Post claims that Lemon thought he had more juice than he really did and annoyed Musk by trying to put the squeeze on him with a series of outlandish demands.
The ex-CNN anchor sent over an astronomical wish list to Elon Musk during contract talks to host a show on the billionaire’s social media platform X – including a free Tesla Cybertruck, a $5 million upfront payment on top of an $8 million salary, an equity stake in the multibillion-dollar company, and the right to approve any changes in X policy as it relates to news content, according to a document reviewed by The Post.
Lemon — who was expected to air an interview with Musk for next week’s debut episode on X — had also demanded a private jet flight to Las Vegas, a suite for him and his fiance, and that the company pay for their day drinking and massages, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
Gulp. That’s a lot of stuff for a fired former anchor to demand. It’s unclear what made him think that he would be worth any of that, since last I checked he wasn't in heavy demand, and the ratings on his last show at CNN were buried in the basement.
Lemon’s agency vehemently denied he made such exorbitant requests, with an executive saying, “This is absolute, complete utter nonsense without an iota of truth to it.”
I'm sure Don has done very well financially in the number of years that he was at CNN. So, I don't think he's hurting for money but being on primetime on cable news does feed one's ego. Of course, the paycheck is not bad, to boot. This is pure speculation on my part but maybe he thought Elon Musk would twist himself into a pretzel, to have a counterbalance to Tucker Carlson being on X.
When that didn't fly, and it crashed and burned, as Bob's story above indicates, he had some time to think about his approach to social media and his view of the world with it.
I know this might be a long shot, but I think it's something to at least consider--being that DEI Is one of the more cumbersome and idiotic ideas to come from the left in the past 50 years.
That's a long list to top.
Thankfully, many great groups like Do No Harm are doing fabulous work to combat DEI, and making some headway; they could help lead people in the direction that Lemon seems to be currently moving towards.
Hopefully.
In any case, if we need to send more leftists to be on Bill's show "Real Time," I'm all for it--and encourage them to breathe and drink the same thing Bill is.
For America.
