CNN’s Don Lemon Delivers Emotional Criticism of Kevin Hart’s ‘Ellen’ Interview

Source: Variety:

January 6, 2019 at 10:20

“That’s huge. Remember, black people only make up 12 percent of the U.S. population. Among homeless transgender youth? 62% of them are black. Those kids were likely kicked out of their homes or had to run away because of who they are,” he added.

In a gripping segment on his CNN news show Friday night, anchor Don Lemon opened up as a member of both the African-American and LGBT communities and called for a deeper response from comedian Kevin Hart in renewed controversy over his defunct Oscar hosting gig.

Lemon addressed the spectacle of Hart’s Thursday appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show, which has widely been criticized for Hart’s perceived victimhood over backlash to previous homophobic tweets and DeGeneres’ emphatic support of his return to the Oscar job, which many found tone deaf.

“Someone like Kevin Hart, with one of the biggest megaphones in the entire world, he can be a leader … he can help change homophobia in the black community, something Kevin’s old twitter jokes addressed but in the wrong way,” Lemon said.

"Apologizing and moving on does not make the world a better place for people who are gay or people who are transgender, being an ally does," says CNN's @DonLemon, reacting to the Oscars' openness to Kevin Hart's return https://t.co/ITGU3Uj2ez pic.twitter.com/4u48sfBF0U
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) January 5, 2019