“He apologized”: The View’s Sunny Hostin says Don Lemon’s CNN firing was “undeserved”

Sunny Hostin called comparisons of Tucker Carlson’s termination from Fox News to Don Lemon’s from CNN a “false equivalency” in a “Salon Talks” interview on Tuesday.

Hostin, the co-host of “The View,” sat down with Salon to discuss racism, the challenges women face in the media industry and her take on Carlson on Monday’s episode of the talk show, saying “karma doesn’t lose anyone’s address” in response to news of the former Fox anchor’s departure.

“You get in this world what you put in and you get — that’s what you get in return. I’m a firm believer of that,” she said when asked about her reaction on “The View.”

Hostin, who has worked with both Carlson and Lemon, added that the comparison of the two former hosts is inaccurate because it solely comes from the fact that their terminations were announced on the same day, not on their individual characters or credibility.

“Tucker lied to his audience intentionally, right? And he did it for money, in my view,” she said, adding “I don’t think he believed most of what he was saying, but he did it anyway. He intentionally misled people and, in the process of that, helped in dividing this country a great deal and also, in a sense, helped with the degradation of our democracy.”

Hostin continued to admonish Carlson’s behavior as “unforgivable” for a “so-called journalist,” punctuating the jab with air quotes. 

She went on to describe her working relationship and 20-year friendship with Don Lemon, who was fired Monday for his history of sexist and misogynistic comments about women, defending him and labeling him an “actual journalist.”

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

“I can say that my experience with Don was not an experience with a misogynist,” Hostin said, referencing his love and respect for his mother, his late sister, her and the other women she’s seen him interact with as examples of his true behavior. “I know that he made some comments that were ageist for sure and were sexist, but he apologized. I’ve never heard Tucker Carlson apologize for anything,” she added.

Hostin concluded her thoughts on Lemon, explaining her disappointment in a firing she feels was “underserved” and questioning the move as a result of cancel culture.

“I wonder if we are in the world now where, you know, I thought cancel culture had kind of gone away,” she said. “And how do you get canceled from your career of 17 years after you’ve apologized for something and done the work of making yourself a better person?”