Man says he 'would pay to see' Don Lemon attempt his anti-ICE protest coverage at a Black church

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: A video mocking former CNN host Don Lemon’s presence at a disrupted Minneapolis church service has gone viral after anti‑ICE protesters interrupted worship on Sunday, January 18.

In the clip, a man ridicules Lemon’s actions and argues that the situation would have unfolded very differently had Lemon attempted the same coverage inside a Black church. He says protective congregants, especially the “aunties,” would have stopped him immediately, adding that he would pay to see Lemon try such a stunt.

Man says Don Lemon 'knew better' than to enter a Black church

The man, speaking candidly in the video, said Lemon would never have been able to just walk into a Black church and behave the way he did during the Minneapolis service. 

He began, "Better, Yeah, Yeah, Don Lemon knew better than to go to a Black church. He would have never tried that. It would have been a totally different scenario and a totally different outcome."

He emphasized the strict sense of order and respect within Black churches: "Because we don't play about stuff like that, you're not gonna come in, and you think he would have got an interview. Are you kidding me?" He added, "He wouldn't have got past the aunties at the front. He... they would have shut them down. He's not even getting in through the front door."

The man highlighted the strong sense of reverence and accountability within the congregation: "Yeah, we don't play in the name of Jesus. He wouldn't have got in. You talking about dudes reform from the streets? Given the testimony, the aunties never gave up on them. You're going to assert yourself into the situation. Bro, I'll be I'm scared to have my phone on ring when I when I'm at church." 

He stressed how different the scenario would have been: "This is different. It's a different atmosphere, you know, I don't even want to say what would have happened that day, but a lot of righteous indignation would have went down. We would have righteously indignation that whole situation shut it all down."

He joked about how intense the reaction would be if Lemon entered a Black church, even saying he’d pay to watch it.

He continued, "You think he's gonna lean into a Black pastor? He's gonna lean in like that. Tell him, ‘Hey, don't touch me’ and lean in on him with his auntie watching in the front row, you think he's gonna do that?"

"Bro. I would. I would pay. I would pay per view. I would. I would pay to see that. Don Lemon knew better. He would have never done that, bro. He knows," the man concluded. 

Don Lemon responds to viral video framing him as the organizer of the protest

The former CNN host responded after the Department of Justice put him “on notice” over his coverage of a Minneapolis church protest. On Sunday, Lemon shared a video from Cities Church in Minneapolis where demonstrators interrupted a service to protest David Easterwood, a pastor who critics say is linked to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

“This is what the First Amendment is about, the freedom to protest,” Lemon, 59, told viewers. “I’m sure people here don’t like it, but protests are not comfortable.”  The footage went viral and drew backlash, with critics accusing Lemon of instigating or organizing the protest. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Lemon pushed back against the legal warning, saying, "It’s notable that I’ve been cast as the face of a protest I was covering as a journalist — especially since I wasn’t the only reporter there. That framing is telling." 

Lemon added, "What’s even more telling is the barrage of violent threats, along with homophobic and racist slurs, directed at me online by MAGA supporters and amplified by parts of the right-wing press."

He called for attention to remain on the issue that sparked the demonstrations, saying it would be better to investigate the death of Renee Nicole Good, the Minneapolis woman whose killing by an ICE agent helped prompt the protests.

"If this much time and energy is going to be spent manufacturing outrage, it would be far better used investigating the tragic death of Renee Nicole Good — the very issue that brought people into the streets in the first place, I stand by my reporting," Lemon said.