What did Don Lemon say about Nikki Haley? Women in their prime comment sparks call for CNN anchor's firing 

CNN anchor Don Lemon recently came under fire after making comments about GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s age and saying she was no longer in her “prime.”

On Wednesday, Haley launched her campaign for the presidential candidacy and took a subtle dig at her opponents, 76-year-old Donald Trump and 80-year-old Joe Biden, by seeking “mandatory mental competency tests” for politicians over the age of 75.

Speaking to a South Carolina crowd, Haley said:

“America is not past our prime — it's just that our politicians are past theirs.”

Don Lemon discussed Haley’s speech with co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins during CNN This Morning and said he was “uncomfortable” about the discussion surrounding age.

He also said that Nikki Haley, who is 51 years old, is not in her “prime” as women can be considered in their prime in their 20s, 30s and 40s:

“This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable. 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 in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”

In response to the statement, co-host Poppy Harlow asked Lemon:

“Prime for what? Are you talking about prime for like childbearing? Or prime for being president?”

Lemon then replied by saying that he was stating facts and that Haley should be careful about her comments on the age of politicians:

“Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just saying what the facts are. Google it, everybody at home! Nikki Haley should be careful about saying that politicians are not in their prime, and they need to be in their prime when they serve. Because she wouldn't be in her prime, according to Google or whatever it is.”

As Don Lemon’s comments went viral online, several social media users called out the anchor over his stance and asked CNN to fire him from the network.

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Netizens call out Don Lemon over Nikki Haley comments

Netizens slammed Don Lemon over women's prime comments (Image via Getty Images)

Don Lemon recently landed in hot waters after saying Nikki Haley is not in her “prime” as women can only be considered in their “prime” between 20 and 40 years of age.

As Lemon’s comments resurfaced online, it sparked major backlash on social media, with many people taking to Twitter to slam the CNN anchor over his views. Some also asked the network to fire the host over his remarks:

As reactions continued to pour in online, Lemon took to Twitter to apologize for his comments. He said his reference to a woman’s “prime” was “inartful and irrelevant.”

The broadcaster went on to admit that a woman’s age does not define her personally and professionally and said that he knows countless women who prove the same each day:

Nikki Haley also addressed Don Lemon’s comments and dubbed him “s*xist” after clarifying that she is not calling competency tests for “middle-aged CNN anchors” but only people who are responsible for making laws and are over 75 years of age.