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'He loves his mother': 'The View' host Sunny Hostin defends friend Don Lemon after CNN firing

'I think he loves women. He loves his mother. He loved his sister. He loves me. He loves [co-host] Joy Behar,' says Sunny Hostin

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: 'The View' host Sunny Hostin has spoken in defense of "friend" Don Lemon who was abruptly fired from CNN on Monday, April 24, after working for 17 years. The termination came unannounced for the TV journalist whose new morning show on the cable news network had a steady decline in viewership ratings. Moreover, the move comes after the 57-year-old faced intense backlash for misogynistic comments and unprofessional behavior. 

Addressing Lemon's firing on a Tuesday episode of 'The View,' Hostin admitted being "stunned," as the TV host had spent nearly two decades with the network. "I know that I'm biased here because Don is my friend and he has been my friend for 20 years," she said of her former CNN colleague on April 25, as per People. "Our offices were directly across from each other, for most of that time that I worked there, and I will say I don't believe — in my experience with him — that he's a misogynist." She added: "I think he loves women. He loves his mother. He loved his sister. He loves me. He loves [co-host] Joy Behar."

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Hostin does not find similarities between Lemon's and Tucker Carlson's firing

Hostin went on to say that she thought it was unfair to compare Lemon's firing to Tucker Carlson's who was also let go of on Monday from Fox News. "I hate that people are comparing Tucker's firing with Don's firing," she said. "It's a false equivalency and just to put a button on it, Don, yes, said some things that were sexist and I think, ageist. He apologized for them and received formal training." 'The View' co-host Behar added to the conversation, saying, "Don has been on the air for a long time fighting bigotry whereas Tucker has been fermenting bigotry, so there's a big difference there. And yes, he did say some dumb things." To which Hostin added, "And apologized, and Tucker never apologized for anything."

'He's had some missteps'

Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin also expressed their take on the matter with Haines noting that "he's had some missteps." She also added how she believes "the writing was on the wall when the new management came... in a way, this was coming down the pipe for a while." Meanwhile, Griffin thinks that Lemon "has the ability that he could have a big future somewhere else, at a big network." The detailed conversation was concluded by Whoopi Goldberg who examined if it was the right decision to add Lemon alongside co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins for CNN 'This Morning'. "I will just say this: if you're concerned that somebody is a misogynist, why would you put them with two women to do a show?" she asked. "If you feel that concern... so for me, it seemed odd when they gave him that show." She persisted: "I've known Don forever too, I didn't work with him. We're just friends."