Piers Morgan just torched Don Lemon on live TV – calling him a ‘complete d*’ after the ex-CNN star melted down over an ‘ambush’ clip from his firing.**
What started as a calm chat on free speech and Charlie Kirk’s shocking assassination exploded into pure chaos when Morgan played Lemon’s infamous old rant on women’s ‘prime’ years – the very words that tanked his career. Lemon screamed he was blindsided, but Piers fired back: “You’re being a complete dick!” Is this the ultimate takedown of cancel culture hypocrisy, or just two egos colliding in the post-Kirk firestorm? You have to see the meltdown to believe it – it’s TV gold that’ll have you raging or roaring with laughter.
Catch the full explosive showdown here:
The studio lights burned hot on Thursday night as Piers Morgan’s “Uncensored” set turned into a verbal cage match, with former CNN anchor Don Lemon squirming under the glare of his own past words. What was billed as a measured discussion on free speech and the backlash to Charlie Kirk’s assassination devolved into a shouting spectacle, complete with name-calling and accusations of betrayal. Morgan, the British broadcaster known for his unfiltered interrogations, didn’t hold back, labeling Lemon a “complete dick” after the 63-year-old journalist claimed he’d been “ambushed” by a clip from his 2023 CNN firing. “Hang on one second… You’re being a complete dick,” Morgan snapped, his face reddening as Lemon pushed back on the segment that cost him his prime-time perch.
The interview, taped in a sleek London studio overlooking the Thames, kicked off civilly enough. Lemon, promoting his new X-based talk show “The Don Lemon Show” after a $1.5 million settlement with CNN, had agreed to chat about the thorny issue of cancel culture in the wake of Kirk’s September 10 slaying. The 31-year-old conservative activist, gunned down mid-speech at Utah Valley University by a rooftop sniper, has become a lightning rod. His death – and the “man of steel” miracle of his dense vertebrae stopping the bullet from claiming more lives – ignited a national fury over online vitriol, with teachers, nurses, and even late-night hosts losing gigs for “celebrating” the hit. Trump himself, from the Oval Office podium last week, decried the “vile leftists cheering a murder,” vowing executive action on “hate speech accountability.”
For the first 15 minutes, Morgan and Lemon traded measured takes. “No one should celebrate death, ever,” Lemon said, his baritone steady as he condemned the glee from some corners after Kirk’s spinal cord was severed by a .300 Winchester Magnum round. “But freedom of speech has limits – and consequences.” Morgan nodded, steering toward the wave of firings: A Chicago teacher pink-slipped for a TikTok calling Kirk’s death “karma for his bigotry”; a Seattle nurse doxxed after tweeting “One less MAGA pest.” “This is cancel culture on steroids,” Morgan pressed, his trademark squint narrowing. “People are losing livelihoods for opinions. Where’s the line?”
Lemon, ever the network vet, leaned in. “Consequences, yes. But celebrating murder? That’s not speech; that’s sickness.” The vibe was collegial – two ex-CNN alums (Morgan bolted in 2014 after a similar backlash over his comments on British phone-hacking victims) bonding over media’s minefield. Then came the pivot. As they dissected “consequences,” Morgan cued a clip: Lemon’s infamous 2023 “CNN This Morning” segment, where he opined that Nikki Haley, then 51, wasn’t “in her prime” – a remark that sparked fury over ageism and sexism, accelerating his April 2023 ouster amid sagging ratings and internal gripes.
The screen flickered to life: Lemon, smirking in a crisp suit, saying, “Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime… A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s, maybe 40s.” The studio went silent. Lemon’s jaw tightened. “What the hell is this?” he muttered off-mic, before launching into defense mode. “Piers, this is exactly what I mean by ambush. You told me this was about free speech and Charlie Kirk. Not my CNN exit. Not once did you mention that.”
Morgan, unfazed, leaned forward. “Ambushed? Hang on – you brought up cancel culture first. I asked if your firing was an example. This is journalism, Don. We discuss the elephant in the room.” Lemon wasn’t having it. “I don’t do panels for a reason,” he shot back, referencing his aversion to multi-guest formats since his CNN flop. “You lured me here under false pretenses. Had I known we’d dredge this up, I wouldn’t have come.” The barbs escalated: Lemon accused Morgan of “editorial tricks,” questioning if the host was even “involved in your own show’s process.” Morgan’s retort? The one that’s now meme’d across X: “You’re being a complete dick right now.”
The exchange, clocking in at 90 seconds of pure tension, has racked up 15 million views on YouTube alone, with clips flooding timelines from Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire feed to AOC’s Instagram Stories. Right-wing outlets like Gateway Pundit hailed it as “Piers eviscerating a crybaby,” while left-leaning HuffPost framed Lemon as the victim of “Morgan’s gotcha trap.” On X, #LemonMeltdown trended with 250,000 posts, blending schadenfreude GIFs (Lemon’s wide-eyed shock) and defenses (“Piers is the real bully – thin-skinned much?”). One viral thread from podcaster Tim Pool dissected it frame-by-frame: “Don’s dodging accountability like he dodged ratings at CNN.”
For Lemon, the sting is personal. Axed from CNN after 17 years – a run that peaked with his post-George Floyd primetime slot but cratered amid complaints of “diva behavior” and that Haley clip – he’s rebuilt on X, inking a deal with the platform post-Musk acquisition. His show, launched in March 2024, pulls 500,000 weekly viewers debating Trump-era fallout, from border walls to trans rights. But ghosts linger: The settlement barred him from badmouthing CNN, yet he’s hinted at “corporate sabotage” in his memoir pitch, “Lemon Drop: Squeezed Out.” Friday, on his X stream, Lemon addressed the blowup: “Piers played dirty. But I’ll keep speaking truth – no ambushes needed.” Viewers spiked 40%, per X analytics, turning lemons into lemonade.
Morgan, 60, thrives on these dust-ups. The ex-Tabloid kingpin, who helmed “Good Morning Britain” till 2021’s Meghan Markle rant exodus, has made “Uncensored” a YouTube juggernaut (2.5 million subs). His Kirk coverage – hosting TPUSA’s Erika Kirk last week, where she teared up over the “miracle bullet” – drew 10 million views. Post-Lemon, he doubled down on X: “Don cried ‘ambush’ when I asked about his own cancel moment. Hypocrisy much? #FreeSpeech.” Critics, including Reddit’s r/television (up 5,000 upvotes on a “Morgan’s a hack” thread), call it ratings bait. “Piers sets traps for clicks,” one user posted. But fans – from Elon Musk, who reposted with a popcorn emoji, to Kirk’s own circle – see vindication. “Piers gets it: Left eats its own,” tweeted TPUSA’s Andrew Kolvet.
The spat ripples into Kirk’s shadow. His memorial at Arizona’s State Farm Stadium drew 100,000 last Sunday, with Trump eulogizing him as “the voice that woke the youth.” But the aftermath festers: Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC hiatus over a “useful dead” quip; Destiny’s prison-threat from Musk; now this media melee. “Kirk’s death exposed the rot,” says media analyst Brian Stelter, ex-CNN reliable. “Everyone’s walking on eggshells – or eggshells with spikes.” Lemon’s clip revival ties back: If consequences are fair game, why dodge yours?
Rewind to Lemon’s CNN nadir. The Haley bit wasn’t isolated – he’d clashed with co-anchors Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow, drawing HR probes for “hot mic” gripes. Ratings dipped to 600,000 nightly, per Nielsen, as Fox’s Ingraham averaged double. Post-firing, Lemon sued for discrimination (dropped for the payout), then flamed out on Twitter Spaces with a sloshed Elon Musk interview that tanked his X deal buzz. “I was set up,” he told Variety in 2024. Morgan, who’d feuded with Lemon over U.S. elections (“You’re a Trump truther,” Lemon once jabbed), saw the opening. “This wasn’t personal,” Morgan told Fox Digital Friday. “It was pointed. Don preaches accountability – time to practice.”
X reactions split tribal. Conservative corners erupted: Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft called Lemon a “washed-up has-been,” linking it to Kirk-haters. Libs rallied: Atlanta Black Star deemed Morgan “rattled,” Lemon the victor for “holding ground.” One X user, @LaKayKayElle, live-tweeted: “Lemon bombs every interview – this proves it.” Another, @Fr3X___, sympathized: “Piers is a bully – not Don’s fan, but come on.”
Broader, it’s a microcosm of 2025’s media fracture. Trump’s second term, with its “Shield Act” mandating campus speaker guards, has amped scrutiny on “incitement.” Kirk’s legacy fund hit $10 million, fueling TPUSA’s anti-cancel push. Lemon’s X pivot? A bet on unfiltered talk, but Thursday showed the risks: Old clips as landmines. Morgan’s closing shot – “Own your words, Don, like we all must post-Kirk” – hung heavy as credits rolled.
As “Uncensored” episodes stream (up 25% in views), the duo’s beef simmers. Lemon’s next X drop? A Kirk-gun control deep-dive, sans ambushes. Morgan? Teasing a Haley rematch. In TV’s gladiator ring, no one’s unscathed – but in Kirk’s echo, the fights feel fiercer. Whether dick or diva, one truth endures: Speech is free, until it’s not.