CNN Needed to Back That Clock Up

CNN inadvertently took the countdown to midnight out of New Year's Eve, when Don Lemon instead danced through 2023's arrival during the network's broadcast from New Orleans. The host and partiers were shown dancing to Juvenile's "Back That Azz Up" when the new year arrived, Insider reports, while Lemon tossed beaded necklaces into the crowd. At the same time, a split screen showed a fireworks display in Nashville, confirming that time had not stood still. Moments later, Lemon belatedly asked the New Orleans revelers if they were "ready for this countdown."

Posts on social media suggested Lemon couldn't hear producers in his earpiece. CNN had told its hosts not to drink this time after a few way-off-script comments by Andy Cohen a year ago, and some posts mocked that. "Drunk Don Lemon never missed the New Year's Eve countdown on New Orleans remotes. Just saying," one tweet said, per Yahoo News. A reader left a comment on Yahoo saying, "The Georgia-Ohio State game broadcast had better coverage of the New Year." One resident pointed out that New Orleans generally isn't a hurry. "Cannot think of anything more on brand for our wonderful city," the tweet read. (More CNN stories.)