CNN host Don Lemon is taking heat from feminists right now after he argued on air with his female co-hosts about why men athletes should make more money than female athletes.

When discussing the pay discrepancies between men and women professional soccer players, Lemon argued that if the men are making more money, it makes sense they would get paid more money. He acknowledged that his comments would not be popular with some viewers, prefacing his statements with, “I know everyone’s gonna hate me”.

“The men’s team makes more money because people have more interest in them,” Lemon said.

This comment frustrated his female co-anchors, Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow, who blamed a lack of investment on the women’s failed ability to make as much money as their male counterparts.

“But guess who takes part of the blame,” interjected Harlow. “Until big media companies, big tech companies, advertisers invest and put them on their airways more and allow people to see it more and gain more fans, then you will push toward more equality.”

“But if they are blocked in so many ways and not invested in as much… they don’t even have a shot,” Harlow continued.

Lemon jumped back in to defend his stance, prefacing his comments by saying, “I’m not sexist. I grew up the only boy in a family of all women.”

He affirmed that he understands what his co-anchor was saying, but added, “Not everybody, honestly, has the same skill. Not everybody has the same interest in the sport.”

“I think the women should be paid more,” insisted Lemon.

Collins jumped in with the statement that “not everybody has the same skills because women have better skills.”

Lemon countered this argument, pointing out that “if the women played the men, they wouldn’t be winning.” This is an obvious statement that is based on biological and physical ability that, in reality, differs significantly in men and women.

For some reason, the women co-anchors are offended by this reality. However, it has nothing to do with socially constructed inequalities but rather is based on the fact that men have higher athletic capabilities due to their physical structures.

In a final point, Lemon says, “If the sport makes more money that means there’s more money available-”

“Why does it make more money?” asks Harlow.

Lemon responds with the brutally honest truth, saying, “Because people are more interested in men. When I go to a sports bar, if there is a women’s basketball game on – I’m just being honest – people will say ‘Can you flip it to guys? I don’t want to watch this.'”

WATCH:

Following a commercial break, the debate resumed. Lemon again defended his perspective, saying, “If there is more interest in a men’s sport, the businesspeople, the people who make money off of sports, will put that on television because we live in a capitalist society. And if people are interested in that then there would be more attention and more money would be paid.”

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