Lemon was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on March 1, 1966, to Katherine Marie (Bouligney) and Wilmon Lee Richardson. His father was a well-known attorney who was involved in a successful lawsuit challenging the segregation of public transportation in Baton Rouge. Lemon was born under the surname of his mother’s then-husband and discovered when he was five that Wilmon was his father.
He is primarily of African-American and Creole ancestry; his maternal grandmother was the daughter of a black mother and a white father of French and Scots-Irish ancestry. He went to Baker High School, a public high school in Baker, East Baton Rouge Parish. During his senior year, Lemon was elected class president.
In 2023, following Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign announcement, Lemon stated that Haley “isn’t in her prime” and that a woman is “in her prime in her 20s, 30s, and 40s.” The comments went viral and elicited widespread criticism online, with many labeling his remarks as sexist.
CNN CEO Chris Licht called the comments “upsetting, unacceptable, and unfair” in The New York Times. Lemon apologized for the comments on Twitter, calling his words “inartful and irrelevant”. Lemon did not appear on CNN This Morning on Monday, February 20.
Don Lemon First Wife: Who Is Stephanie Ortiz?
Stephanie Ortiz is rumored to have been Don Lemon’s first wife. Stephanie is best known for her work as an actress in a number of popular film and television projects, including A Kiss of Chaos (2009), The Love Potion (2010), and The Grasslands (2011).
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