Don Lemon Fires Back at Nicki Minaj for Calling Him Homophobic Slur

Don Lemon has said Nicki Minaj is “out of her depth” and should “sit the f*** down” when it comes to politics after she called him a homophobic slur over his report on ICE protests at a Minneapolis church.

The former CNN anchor took to the social media app BlueSky on Sunday (January 18) to share footage of protestors interrupting a church service in Minneapolis. One of the church’s pastors is reportedly a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In the video, Lemon interviews protestors before they enter the church and disrupt the service. The protest came following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Minneapolis woman Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent earlier this month.

Minaj, who has been open about her conservative views and support for President Donald Trump in recent months, slammed Lemon as “disgusting” for his coverage of the protest. She also referred to him as a homophobic slur; Lemon is openly gay.

“DON ‘C–K SUCKIN’ LEMON IS DISGUSTING. HOW DARE YOU?” Minaj wrote in a post to X alongside an image of the horror movie icon Chucky. “I WANT THAT THUG IN JAIL!!!!! HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ANY OTHER RELIGION. LOCK HIM UP!!!!!”

DON ‘COCK SUCKIN’ LEMON IS DISGUSTING.

HOW DARE YOU?

I WANT THAT THUG IN JAIL!!!!!

HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ANY OTHER RELIGION.

LOCK HIM UP!!!!! pic.twitter.com/xoQBl9KDJY

— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) January 19, 2026

Lemon responded to Minaj’s post in an interview with TMZ, calling her a “homophobic, bigoted, ignorant woman.”

Related

Former CNN Star Jim Acosta Mocks Pete Hegseth During Don Lemon's New Year's Eve Party

“This is clearly out of her depth. She doesn’t understand politics. She doesn’t understand journalism. And I’m not surprised that she is weighing in on something that is beyond her capacity,” he told the outlet. “I think she put the Chucky doll in [her post]. A better symbol that should have been represented in that picture is a ‘Pick Me’ doll because Nicki Minaj is a pick me.”

He continued, “She will do anything that is expedient for her politically. And again, she’s ignorant. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s always weighing in on things that she doesn’t know about. Nicki Minaj should just sit the f*** down.”

Minaj has not backed down from her original post. She returned to X on Monday, writing, “LOL!!! And I purposely wrote it that way b/c I knew that would be the only way to get the c**k suckas to post about it. They would’ve all collectively ignored the despicable behavior displayed by Lemon head. I’m glad they’re angry. They’re about to get angrier.”