Don Lemon has hit back after Kanye West accused him of spreading gossip about his exit from the Grammy Awards.
The rapper branded him a 'goofball' in a scathing Instagram post - which has since been deleted - yesterday (3 February).
He went on to allege that the journalist, 58, was responsible for starting the rumour that he and his wife Bianca Censori were booted out of the awards show.
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West wrote alongside an image of Lemon: "This the goofball that started the rumour that me and my wife got kicked out the Grammies 3 decades of innovating music and they always K***S like this."
The former CNN journalist went on to shared his own social media post in a bid to clear his name, insisting he wasn't the person pedalling the tittle-tattle about West and Censori's exit.
Lemon then dug deeper into the drama during a live episode of his podcast, The Don Lemon Show, last night.
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The Emmy-Award winning journalist explained that he had 'planned to talk about all the chaos in Washington', however, he had altered the agenda slightly so that he could discuss 'Kanye's and cons' instead.
The 58-year-old explained that he 'somehow convinced the Grammys' to allow him to live stream and do social content on the red carpet while accompanied by YouTuber Kai Cenat, completely 'unrestrained'.
"We were the only two streamers that were out there. We got a two-minute warning that Kanye West was going to show up. Instead of coming in where everyone else comes in, Kanye decided to go in through a different way."
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Lemon explained he spotted Censori in a 'giant fur coat' and decided to approach the couple with the intention of being 'really respectful' and avoiding any potentially 'provocative' subjects.
Despite admitting he 'does not follow' the rapper's career, Lemon said he opted to quiz West about his upcoming album, Bully..., but it didn't exactly go to plan.
Lemon went on: "[West] turns to his manager, or whoever was walking with him, and then they say, 'No more interviews'. So I just laughed about it, no big deal. I didn't care.
"So I get into the Grammys and everyone is saying, 'Oh my gosh, did you see what happened with Kanye West? Did you see his wife, she was half-naked?' It went on and on."
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These were people, not officials at the Grammys. These people were saying, 'Did you hear Kanye West got kicked out?'"
Lemon said he then began to see reports speculating that the pair had been kicked out appearing on a string of news outlets too, so he shared a post on social media discussing what he had heard.
Later, when he was leaving the Crypto.com Arena, the journalist ran into people from West's camp who he claims then asked him to 'help them clear this up'.
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"They said 'it's a fact' that he was invited and it 'was a fact' he was not kicked out," Lemon recalled. "So I posted later on in my car, on the way to the afterparty."
But a short time later, Lemon then received the news that he had been called out by West online.
The TV star continued: "Kanye West called me a c**n. Kanye, I could have roasted you on the red carpet. Like really come at you hard, no barriers. There was not a barricade, there was no security, I was right on you. I could have asked you anything.
"I could have asked you why are you an anti-semite, why are you sexist, what would make you think that Kamala Harris would come near you with a 10-foot pole?
"I didn't even discuss the odd things that you and your wife are doing and that people are actually really concerned for your wife. They are really worried about her."
Lemon then laid it out clearly for West to avoid any further mix ups.
He added: "Kanye, I did not start a rumour about you and your wife being kicked out of the Grammys. That did not happen. I actually corrected it. I was sitting in the arena telling you what people at the Grammy Awards were saying, that these rumours were going around or people there were thinking that that happened.
"| was going to try to get to the bottom of it and I did. I said you were not kicked out and that you were indeed invited and I said that you should get your s**t straight, and you should."
Lemon claimed West's people had been in touch with him to tell him they were 'taking care' of the Instagram post, before it was then taken down.
"Because they know he was wrong," the journalist said, before addressing West directly. "I appreciate you taking it down, but I don't appreciate you of all people calling me a c**n.
"You can talk to people any way you want, you can tweet or write about people any way you want, but don't come for me unless I sent for you. Now check that. Don't even try it."
Topics: Grammys, Celebrity, Kanye West, Instagram
Olivia Burke