Sunny Hostin 'Disappointed' by Lack of Diversity in Media Following Long-Time Friend Don Lemon's Firing

Sunny Hostin isn't happy about Don Lemon's firing!

On Friday, April 29, at the second annual "Politics & Inclusion" dinner, Hostin was asked what she thought about the presence of diversity in media compared to last year.

"I'd like to see improvement with more representation. I thought, you know, we were in a place where we had people and voices like Don Lemon and like Tiffany Cross," The View host said, referencing her long-time friend's firing from CNN this week, as well as Cross getting axed from MSNBC in November.

"And I think we're seeing the media go backwards a bit when you're looking at people that have been the voice of news and addressing head-on in an unfiltered and unvarnished way, the real-life and lived experience of people of color," she added.

"So I'm pretty disappointed, actually, in the state of things, but I'm hopeful when you see a room like this, that there are going to be a bunch of young journalists that will be vulnerable and fearless and go after it," the lawyer continued.

Hostin then detailed that she may be partisan when it comes to the subject of Lemon’s recent ouster.

"I am biased because I've been his friend for 10 years. Our offices were right across the hall from each other at CNN. I vacationed with him. I know him extremely well, and it doesn't make sense to me," she explained. "It is not my experience with him. It is not the experience that I saw with other journalists."

"I was on the ground with him in Ferguson. I was on the ground with him in South Carolina for the shootings there, the church," she continued. "I have covered many stories, and he has made sure to look out for me."

"I know for a fact when there have been allegations against some of his team members, he has spoken up and spoken out for women. So it's unfortunate that this narrative is coming out — or is being played out — because I don't think it's true," she added.

As OK! previously reported on Monday, April 24, Lemon was fired from the network weeks after making a sexist comment claiming women pass their "prime" after their "20s or 30s."

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The next day on The View, Hostin insisted that her pal wasn’t a misogynist.

"I will say, I don't believe — in my experience with him — that he's a misogynist," she said of Lemon. "I think he loves women. He loves his mother. He loved his sister. He loves me. He loves [cohost] Joy Behar."

People reported on Hostin's comments.