Actress Michelle Yeoh took an apparent jab at CNN host Don Lemon on Sunday night after she accepted the first Academy Award in her career for best actress.
Yeoh made history as the first Asian person to win as lead actress for the popular film “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities,” Yeoh said as she accepted the award.
“This is proof that dreams do come true. And ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you’re ever past your prime. Never give up.”
A number of television hosts and media critics reacted to Yeoh’s speech live on Sunday, with more than a few asking whether the comments were intended as criticism of Lemon.
Lemon has been widely condemned for comments he made in February that some said were sexist.
“Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry,” Lemon told his female co-hosts on “CNN This Morning” about the former South Carolina governor and newly-announced Republican presidential candidate.
“A woman is considered to be in their prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,” he added.
“Was this a jab at @donlemon for his recent comments about women ‘being past their prime’ after their 40’s?” Turning Point USA ambassador Stephanie Hamill asked her over 146,000 followers on Twitter in reaction to Yeoh’s comments.
NPR TV critic Eric Deggans was more direct, saying that Yeoh’s words were intended as “shade for Don Lemon” in a tweet Sunday.
Contributing editor for Current Affairs Briahna Joy Gray joked that she could not have predicted Yeoh’s barbs against Lemon during the Oscars. “Michelle Yeoh coming for Don Lemon was not on my #Oscar bingo card,” Gray tweeted alongside an Oscars trophy emoji.
Other media figures, many of them women, also praised Yeoh for her comments on age.
Television host Bianca Gonzalez lauded the Oscar-winning actress in a viral Twitter post. “We are NEVER past our prime. PREACH, Michelle Yeoh!!!!!!!”
“It has been confirmed. Michelle Yeoh is an unstoppable force,” CNN anchor Kristie Lu Stout tweeted.
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