Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Covers for Don Lemon, ‘We Know Your Heart Was in the Right Place’

After CNN’s Don Lemon got himself in some hot water yesterday over comments he made about women being in their prime, he made a tweet to clarify his comments.

Lemon, however, didn’t actually apologize for what he said, he instead simply said that he regretted saying it.

In response, former NBA all-time scoring leader (until LeBron James recently passed him on the list) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came to his defense by insisting, “We know your heart was in the right place.”

It seems bizarre, in our view, that Abdul-Jabbar would make such a statement because it was clearly an attempt by Lemon to insult 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley that went awry.

Lemon declared in the tweet, “The reference I made to a woman’s ‘prime’ this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it.

“A woman’s age doesn’t define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day,” Lemon added.

Abdul-Jabbar replied, “Don – we know your heart was in the right place. I think you were referencing women being in their prime during their ‘reproductive years’.”

“Women are always in their ‘prime’ because in my opinion, they get stronger, more courageous and more beautiful as they get older,” Abdul-Jabbar explained.

Neither Lemon’s nor Abdul-Jabbar’s tweets went over well and both got badly ratioed in response to their attempts to resolve the situation.

Lemon was ultimately given the day off today from the morning show and co-host Poppy Harlow is in Utah covering the NBA All-Star game leaving co-host Kaitlan Collins to run the show with substitute co-host Audie Cornish.

Don – we know your heart was in the right place.
I think you were referencing women being in their prime during their “reproductive years”.

Women are always in their “prime” because in my opinion, they get stronger, more courageous and more beautiful as they get older.

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) February 16, 2023

We could call it Dunce Cap Day. Don Lemon's nose is in the corner. CNN says "Don has the day off." pic.twitter.com/dxMOCxai3l

— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) February 17, 2023

Don Lemon Gets Roasted by Co-Host Poppy Harlow After Claiming that Nikki Haley ‘Isn’t in her Prime’