*Don Lemon allegedly yelled at his “CNN This Morning” co-host Kaitlan Collins off-camera in December and the crew is said to be walking on eggshells around him ever since.
“Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio,” one insider told the New York Post. According to the outlet, Lemon berated Collins following the show’s Thursday, Dec. 8 broadcast and accused her of “interrupting” him on air.
A producer addressed the matter with Lemon at the behest of network boss Chris Licht, “who is said to have been appalled by Lemon’s behavior, according to a source,” The Post writes. The producer allegedly told Lemon to take the next day off to “cool off.”
“At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible,” a source spilled, adding “It’s messy.”
READ MORE: CNN’s New Morning Show with Don Lemon Debuts with Low Ratings
Per The Post, a rep from CNN declined to comment on the incident but noted that in the three months since Lemon, Collins, and the show’s other co-anchor Poppy Harlow have been leading “CNN This Morning,” which launched Nov. 1, the trio has “created a compelling morning show that breaks news and drives the conversation.”
A source told The Post that “Don has been given notes” by the show’s producers “to not talk so much, to let other people talk.”
“Don’s a bossy guy and difficult to work with — even he would admit that. He was a solo act before. He doesn’t want to be in Destiny’s Child,” the source added.
Licht announced in September that Lemon was moving on from his primetime solo slot to the newly created morning team with Collins and Harlow. The trio replaced “New Day” hosts John Berman and Brianna Keilar.
“Don has an intractable ego,” a source close to both Licht and Lemon said. “My understanding is he wants the show to be about him. I don’t know how you fix that. It’s a very difficult situation.”
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