



Actress and liberal activist Alyssa Milano weighed in on a recent controversy involving a panel discussion on CNN, criticizing the network and expressing sympathy for supporters of President Donald Trump.

During a weekend “CNN Tonight” segment, host Don Leon laughed hysterically at a series of jokes made by his guests at the expense of Trump supporters.

I don’t agree with making fun of anyone. The CNN clip displays a level of mockery, toward those who support Trump, that I’m uncomfortable with. I think I understand why you voted for him. You were struggling. You didn’t feel seen or heard by the previous administrations. 1/5 — Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 29, 2020

The backlash came two days later when footage of the CNN panel discussion was disseminated widely on social media, provoking outrage among the right.

Milano, usually a reliable critic of all things Trump and right-wing, joined in on the condemnation of the network.

MORE: CNN Host Laughs Hysterically at ‘Ignorant’ Trump Supporters — Then Gets a Brutal Reality Check

“I don’t agree with making fun of anyone. The CNN clip displays a level of mockery, toward those who support Trump, that I’m uncomfortable with. I think I understand why you voted for him. You were struggling. You didn’t feel seen or heard by the previous administrations,” she tweeted on Wednesday.

“I get it. By voting for Trump you felt you were voting for change that could potentially help you and your family,” the “Charmed” actress added in another tweet.

But any conservatives hoping Milano might be crossing the aisle for good were soon disappointed as she began to outline why the country was worse off under Trump.

“In 3.5 yrs since Trump was elected-hate crimes have gone up. Gun violence has gone up. Depression and anxiety have gone up,” she tweeted.

In 3.5 yrs since Trump was elected-hate crimes have gone up. Gun violence has gone up. Depression and anxiety have gone up. We need to look at this time in history w/ a critical eye & make hard decisions about the big things. Like decency, integrity, honor, truth and justice.3/5 — Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 29, 2020

“I don’t know what’s going to happen w/ impeachment. I’m hopeful at best. But I do know this, mocking people for how they voted in 2016 is not the answer. Maybe, just maybe, it’s as simple as listening more and trying to find some common ground so people feel seen and heard,” Milano said in another tweet.

Lemon first burst into laughter Saturday when guest Rick Wilson joked that Trump could not could not find Ukraine on a map “if you had the letter ‘U’ and a picture of an actual physical crane next to it.”

Lemon continued laughing when his guests turned to mocking the president’s supporters as stupid and illiterate rednecks and parodied them with southern-accented impressions. That part of the segment went on for nearly a minute of the 1:16 clip.

“That’s partly him playing to their base and playing to their audience,” Wilson said, as Lemon doubled over in laughter. “You know, the credulous boomer rube demo that backs Donald Trump, that wants to think that Donald Trump’s the smart one and y’all elitists are dumb.”

“You elitists with your geography and your maps and your spelling,” New York Times op-ed contributor Wajahat Ali chimed in, trying to affect a similar accent.

“Your math, your reading,” Wilson added, prompting Lemon to take out a tissue to wipe away tears of joy.

“Yeah, your reading, your geography, knowing other countries, sipping your latte,” Ali repeated.

“All those lines on the map!” Wilson said, rocking back and forth in hysterics.

“Only them elitists know where Ukraine is,” Ali continued.

“Sorry, I apologize,” Ali said, smiling. “It was Rick’s fault. I blame Rick.”

“Blame Rick, why not?” Wilson said.

Lemon, gasping for air, finally tried to regain control of the panel.

“That was good. Sorry. Rick, that was a good one. I needed that,” he said. “So, OK, listen, let’s get back to business here.”

Don Lemon apologizes (but not really)

Lemon on Tuesday tried to minimize his role in the segment.

In the final 40 seconds of his nightly news show, he launched into what initially sounded like an apology.

“And one final note that I have for you because this is personally important to me to address this, OK?” he said. “Anyone, ask anyone who knows me, they’ll tell you, I don’t believe in belittling people, belittling anyone for who they are, what they believe or where they’re from.”

After that, though, Lemon pivoted to making vague and implausible excuses about his behavior during the inflammatory segment.

MORE: CNN Guest Reacts to Backlash by Mocking a Trump Supporter’s Education

“During an interview on Saturday night, one of my guests said something that made me laugh, and while in the moment I found that joke humorous. And I didn’t catch everything that was said,” he said. “Just to make this perfectly clear, I was laughing at the joke and not at any group of people.”