Don Lemon isn’t the most popular kid on the block when it comes to his CNN coverage of Ferguson, Mo. The veteran news reporter has already been the butt of jokes and memes, and a recent run-in with rapper Talib Kweli has added fuel to the disdain some people hold for him.
https://twitter.com/stereowilliams/status/500687345566613504
Kweli, who is known for his social activism, arrived in Ferguson last week and has been participating in protests and interacting with residents.
Lemon’s interview with Kweli started off with the rapper letting him know why he was there. “I felt like it was up to me to be here and control the narrative because the media’s done a horrible job of making sure the stories get out in the right way,” he said.
Kweli’s jab was directed at CNN and a recent article on the news network’s home page. Kweli refuted the fact that tensions were high and bottles were actually flying, because he was actually there. “I was right there,” Kweli said.
Lemon then went on to interrupt Kweli, which obviously irritated the rapper.
“If I can’t talk, we don’t have to have an interview,” Kweli stated.
Everything seemed to be back on track—well, for at least 10 seconds.
“I would listen to you if you had the decency to greet me—to greet me!” Kweli says.
“I invited you to come on CNN,” Lemon replied.
“You didn’t invite me,” Kweli shoots back. “Nicole invited me, first of all. You didn’t even say nothing to me; you were on your phone the whole time. You asked how to pronounce my name—you have no respect for who I am.”
Eventually, after discussing etiquette, the two shook hands and parted ways.
“Are we good?” Lemon asked Kweli.
“We good,” Kweli stated. “Emotions are running high, but we good.”
Kweli then took to his Twitter account to explain how everything went down: