DON LEMON spoke up on a CNN call this morning with members of the newsroom and apologized for his sexist remarks yesterday that stirred controversy within the newsroom and sparked a backlash in the media and political world. “I am sorry that I offended — not if I offended, that I offended — a whole lot of people in this company,” Lemon said on the call, according to audio obtained by Playbook. (The NY Post also reported some details of the apology this morning.) On yesterday’s “CNN This Morning,” Lemon suggested to co-hosts POPPY HARLOW and KAITLAN COLLINS that GOP presidential contender NIKKI HALEY wasn’t “in her prime” at age 51. “A woman is considered to be in their prime in [their] 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,” he said. This morning, Lemon said his comment “came out wrong” and sought to clarify that the point he was trying to make was that “no one’s age — not a man, not a woman’s — should define their ambition or their potential for success at anything.” He said he “realized afterward that it didn’t make sense and didn’t land correctly.” “In the history of this organization I’m not sure anyone has done this, and I’m doing it because I want you to know about me, for those of you who don’t know: I believe that women of any age — people of any age, but mostly women of any age — can do whatever they set their minds to.” “The people I am closest to in this organization are women. The people I seek counsel from first in this organization are women. The person I am closest to in the world is my mother, a woman,” Lemon said. He went on to name-check some of his CNN colleagues with whom he speaks to regularly, including DANA BASH, ERIN BURNETT, MARIA SPINELLA and “the Poppy and Kaitlans of the world, who run circles around men, and me, on a daily basis.” Toward the end of his comments on the call this morning, Lemon said he would “continue to be who I am, to talk about issues that I think affect us — women, people of color, members of the LGBT community, the underserved community — that is part of my mission.” But, he said “when I make a mistake, I own it. And I own this one as well.” CNN CEO CHRIS LICHT then thanked Don for getting on the call before moving on to other business of the day. “I look forward to the continued conversation on this with you and the staff,” Licht said. But Lemon’s mea culpa on the call didn’t satisfy everyone who heard it. People who were on the call said that while Lemon apologized, he seemed at times to be justifying his original comment and taking credit for apologizing. One person described Lemon’s apology as “tone deaf” and said some staff remain “furious” over the episode and want management to issue a statement responding to the situation. FETTERMAN UPDATE — NBC’s Dasha Burns: “A senior aide to Senator [JOHN] FETTERMAN tells me he will likely be in inpatient care for clinical depression for ‘a few weeks.’ … A senior aide says it’s been difficult to distinguish the stroke from the depression – saying it’s hard to tell at times if Fetterman is ‘not hearing you, or is he sort of crippled by his depression and social anxiety.’” Click through for a full thread — CNN’s Manu Raju: “Fetterman will not resign his office because of this illness, per source. There have been numerous examples of senators who have been sidelined over the years for a much longer time period, and this is no different, the source added.” Related read: “What John Fetterman Should Know About Thomas Eagleton,” by Jeff Greenfield for POLITICO Magazine SCOTT FINDS AN EDITOR — NBC’s Sahil Kapur: “After facing attacks, Sen. RICK SCOTT edits his policy plan on sunsetting laws after five years. It now exempts Social Security and Medicare.” Click through for the side-by-side comparison Good Friday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Programming note: This newsletter will be off on Monday in observance of Presidents Day. But Playbook will still publish in the morning. Drop me a line: gross@politico.com.
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