Don Lemon hosted the second half of CNN's New Year's Eve coverage and the hashtag #drunkdonlemon was born.
By the end of the night, Lemon had done multiple shots, sang off key, led a marching band, and kissed his boyfriend -- all on live television alongside co-host Brooke Baldwin. People seemed to love it.
\u201cMay you live everyday like New Years Eve Don Lemon in 2018.\u201d— Matthew A. Cherry (@Matthew A. Cherry) 1514789553
The Advocate named Lemon a finalist for Person of the Year for the way he's handled recurring attacks by President Trump, providing a source of pride for people of color who are so often the subject of Trump's vitriol. Lemon seems to be enjoying life. At one point, while Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen were hosting the primetime portion of the night, Lemon and Baldwin were joined live in New Orleans by a man who asked his girlfriend to marry him.
"She said yes!" shouted Baldwin.
But it was Lemon's own love story that stole hearts as we rung in 2018. Watch him tell the story of how he celebrated in New Orleans with his boyfriend, Tim Malone, one year earlier.
The story was followed by a kiss.
\u201cDon Lemon kissing his boyfriend - whom he met last year in same bar - live on #CNNNYE \ud83d\udc9c Love is real in 2018!\u201d— Jillian Sederholm (@Jillian Sederholm) 1514787057
In case it wasn't clear -- for whatever reason -- a slight clarification of the story came later on Twitter, after Lemon wasn't enthralled by the festivities of the night.
\u201cClarification. We did not meet at the bar. He was with me at the bar. We met in New York. https://t.co/lfz0IMF5un\u201d— Don Lemon (@Don Lemon) 1514789723
With Cooper, Cohen and Lemon bringing America into the new year, this might be the winning observation of the night, though.
\u201cHonestly, Don Lemon seems like a fun guy. And it\u2019s cool that there are so many out gay guys on CNN on NYE, no?\u201d— Emily Nussbaum (@Emily Nussbaum) 1514785436















