'Ron Burgundy moment' or 'BIDEN MOMENT'? CNN's Lemon appears to read teleprompter cue aloud rather than showing scripted emotion

During CNN host Don Lemon’s report on claims of election fraud in Michigan, he seemed to read aloud a teleprompter cue to “scream” rather than screaming, prompting critics to liken him to the ‘Anchorman’ films’ notorious lead.

“This is fraud, people, scream,” Lemon said on Thursday night during his CNN show. He then appeared to catch himself, saying, “OK, that’s what it says, alright,” before continuing with his report.

Twitter commenters accused CNN of using “fake outrage,” with some calling Lemon’s alleged acting error a “Ron Burgundy moment” and others saying it was a “Biden moment.”

Burgundy is a fictional television newsman, known for his frequent gaffes and insincerity, who was depicted hilariously by comedian Will Ferrell in the movies ‘Anchorman’ and ‘Anchorman 2’. Joe Biden, whom CNN and other media outlets project to be the winner of the November 3 presidential election, was ridiculed for various teleprompter blunders during his campaign, such as reading aloud an “end of quote” cue after delivering a key line in a September 4 speech.

Lemon is known for emotional outbursts on his show, such as when he teared up in April while talking about fellow CNN anchor Chris Cuomo testing positive for Covid-19. Just last week, Lemon described being emotionally overwhelmed when he heard the news that Biden had been named winner of the election.

“I’m very emotional,” he told Cuomo, with his voice wavering. “So when you ask me how I’m feeling right now, I’m sorry, that’s all I can tell you, this is how I feel right now. I am so happy to have this platform to be able to do this. I may not have it after this. But I really don’t care.”

Thursday’s apparent teleprompter stumble triggered mockery on Twitter, where critics said it showed that Lemon is just a propagandist thespian.

“Better hire professional actors,” one person tweeted. “We like Shakespearians.” Another observer said, “How can anyone still watch CNN and take any of their propagandists seriously – especially that?”

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