Former CNN anchor Don Lemon and rapper Kanye West have got into a war of words over the controversial events of Sunday night’s 2025 Grammys ceremony.
What started as a jaw-dropping red carpet stunt by West’s wife, Bianca Censori, has now spiraled into a bitter social media feud, with accusations of misinformation, racial slurs, and fiery clapbacks flying between the two.
The drama began when West and his wife arrived at the Grammys in a moment of pure spectacle.
Censori, known for her boundary-pushing fashion choices, was draped in a plush fur coat – only to dramatically shed the garment on the red carpet, revealing a completely sheer nude mesh bodysuit that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.
Stunned onlookers questioned whether the couple had even been invited to the event in the first place.
West, who had been nominated for Best Rap Song, stood nearby, while photographers captured the jaw-dropping moment of near-total nudity from Censori.
Don Lemon then reported he had heard the couple had been forcibly removed from the event by police, with some outlets suggesting the Recording Academy had no choice but to intervene after the stunt. But within hours conflicting accounts emerged.
As the speculation ran wild, Lemon, who was covering the Grammys from the red carpet and later inside the arena, weighed in.
‘Here’s what I’m hearing. I’m hearing that Kanye wanted to do the red carpet, but he wasn’t invited,’ Lemon said.
‘That’s what I’m hearing from folks here at the Grammys. And then he left. Maybe he was escorted out. That’s what folks are saying. I’m not sure. Maybe he just wanted to do the carpet, but he definitely has gone.’
His comments immediately fueled the fire, with many assuming Lemon was confirming the removal of West and Censori from the event.
However, hours later, TMZ reported that West was actually an invited guest and had not been forcibly removed, directly contradicting the rumors.
West, never one to let an accusation slide, zeroed in on Lemon as the source of the misinformation and responded in his signature unfiltered style.
Taking to social media, the rapper posted an old photo of Lemon and wrote: ‘This the goofball that started the rumor that me and my wife got kicked out the Grammies. 3 decades of innovating music and they [sic] always KOONS like this.’
Clearly amused by West’s attack that contained a term deemed to be offensive between black people, Lemon let loose, immediately hitting back with a blistering Instagram video.
In the clip, Lemon could be seen laughing as he mocked West’s name change and political affiliations before unleashing his savage rebuttal.
‘Kanye, Ye, Yay, whatever your name is. I did not start a rumor about you being kicked out of the Grammys. I actually corrected it. I saw someone on your team who asked me to correct it because it had been reported everywhere. So first of all, get your s*** straight.’
He then called out West for referring to him with a racial slur, accusing the rapper of hypocrisy over his well-documented support for Donald Trump.
‘And you, of all people, calling me a coon! Negro! That ‘Make America Great Again’ hat must be too tight on your head,’ Lemon said.
The rapper has also rapper now hit out at outrage to the stunt as he dismissed the Grammys ceremony as ‘boring’ and called his wife’s outfit ‘art’.
‘People have called this a stunt but to Ye this is his art,’ a source told The Sun.
‘He turned up, made headlines around the world and left. No one told him what to do and even if they had, he wouldn’t have listened.
‘Ye always planned to do the red carpet and leave — he’d never sit through the Grammys because it’s so dull and boring.’
The stunt is said to have lost West a $20 million deal to play in Japan, according to sources in Tokyo.
West, 47, had signed up to do two shows at the Tokyo Dome in May, but following the naked stunt his investors have taken fright.
West and Censori left the event soon after the red carpet walk, and were pictured getting into a waiting limo.
Following the Grammys Censori also made a dramatic return to Instagram in the wake of her shocking red carpet moment.
After previously deactivating her account amid rumors of marital troubles, Censori resurfaced with a series of behind-the-scenes Polaroids of her nude look.