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CNN This Morning hosts Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins reunited for the first time on Monday since reports emerged that she ran off-set crying after he berated her.
The pair had only one icy interaction during the show in which Lemon asked Collins whether she recycled.
Collins, 30, is caught giving her co-host the cold shoulder amid reports the network’s golden boy went ‘ballistic’ on her for apparently interrupting him in December.
It comes as a CNN insider told Fox News that Lemon is ‘having a hard time sharing the spotlight’ since losing his solo hosting gig for his primetime 10pm show.
The 56-year-old looked uncomfortable on Monday’s broadcast as he interviewed philanthropist and actor Kal Penn to talk about climate change.
Collins, right, and Lemon, center, had only one icy interaction during the show in which Lemon asked Collins whether she recycled
They were joined by their third co-star Poppy Harlow.
During the interaction Lemon appears to nearly interrupt Collins which has been a source of contention for the co-hosts.
He points towards Collins and asks her: ‘Do you recycle? Or do you separate (rubbish), I should say?’
She barely looks at her co-host as she quickly replies ‘yes, we recycle’ before directing her attention back to their guest.
It is the only interaction the pair had in the hour-long show.
For much of the episode the three hosts were separated into their own individual segments.
The row between the two stars emerged after Lemon is said to have berated Collins in front of the television crew for appearing to interrupt him on December 8.
He was told to take a day to ‘cool off’ by CNN boss Chris Licht.
Lemon is said to have made Collins run off set crying after he berated her for interrupting him
Collins and Lemon have starred alongside each other on the show since it started three months ago
But the incident was featured in a company newsletter, prompting Lemon to ‘blow up’ at staff, according to RadarOnline.
The row emerged last week and since then Lemon has been enjoying a vacation in Beverly Hills with his partner Tim Malone.
The pair travelled from New York to Los Angeles for the Grammys and seemed to be enjoying the sunshine in the Golden State – ignoring the drama unfolding at home.
This Morning is considered a pet project of Chris Licht since he became CNN’s chief in May 2022.
However it had an underwhelming debut and averaged just 454,000 total viewers in its first month in November.
It December its viewers dropped to 389,000 before plummeting again in January to 373,000.
A source told Fox News that Licht knows the show ‘isn’t in the right place.’
‘He thinks it needs work, the show needs to improve’ a CNN insider told Fox News Digital.
Poppy Harlow (center) is the also stars alongside the pair on the CNN morning show
While it’s unclear if whether Collins intentionally interrupted Lemon, one source has previously referred to him as ‘bossy’ and ‘difficult to work with’
The insider added that Lemon in particular was struggling with the show.
‘Don’s having a hard time sharing a show,’ they said.
‘He’s having a hard time sharing the spotlight.’
Lemon anchored CNN’s 10pm ET time slow for years but its viewership had been steadily declining.
He was then pulled from the top slot by Licht in September and asked to appear alongside Collins and Harlow for a revamped morning show.
It was intended to replace the Jeff Zucker-era program ‘New Day.’
Eric Hall had served as executive producer of the show when it launched but he was pulled from the role last month and reassigned to prime time.
Collins and Lemon, along with Harlow, used to arrive to red carpets and events as a unit.
But now, they arrive separate and seem to want to stay far away from each other.
‘At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible,’ a source told The Post. ‘It’s messy.’
To Collins’ advantage, CEO Licht wants the morning show hosts out in the field more than on set.
Collins, who is also CNN’s White House correspondent, has recently spent a lot of time in DC.
CNN previously issued a statement saying that the reports of Lemon’s outburst are overblown, but other outlets have confirmed that the events being described are largely accurate.
‘Don, Kaitlan and Poppy were friends before they were co-anchors and they remain friends today,’ a statement reads.
Dailymail.com has reached out to CNN for further comment.
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