Former CNN pundit Don Lemon and Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, traded barbs after the rapper’s wife attended Sunday’s Grammy Awards ceremony in a sheer dress.
The brouhaha started after Ye temporarily posted a message online claiming Lemon started the rumor that he and Bianca Censori were booted from the event over her au naturel stunt in Los Angeles, according to the Daily Beast. Ye’s claim reportedly included a racial slur that implied Lemon was a simple Black man.
Lemon posted an Instagram video defending his reporting and suggested Ye isn’t getting enough oxygen to his brain.
“First of all, Kanye, Ye, whatever your name is,” Lemon said. “I did not start a rumor about you being kicked out of the Grammys. I actually corrected it.”
According to Lemon, that rumor had been reported elsewhere and someone associated with Ye asked the 58 -year-old pundit to help set the record straight. Censori and Ye appeared to have left on their own accord. Lemon had earlier suggested “maybe” Ye was escorted from the Crypto.com Arena after hearing the 24-time Grammy winner had exited the event, but couldn’t confirm that information.
“So first of all, get your s–t straight,” Lemon said. “And you, of all people, calling me a c–n? That Make America Great Again hat must be too tight on your head.”
Ye has famously championed Donald Trump’s MAGA initiative. However his professional life hit a wall when he brought far-right wing Nick Fuentes to Trump’s Mar-a-lago estate for dinner in November 2022 while the “Black Skinhead” was on a a very public campaign against Jews.
Trump later referred to Ye on social media as “a seriously troubled man, who just happens to be black” whom he was trying to help. The President said he wasn’t previously familiar with Fuentes.
Ye’s antisemitic rhetoric led to numerous business sponsors parting ways with the once hugely popular musician.
