There wasn’t a show-stopping slap during the Oscars on Sunday night, such as the one delivered last year on Chris Rock from Will Smith, but there was a figurative one..Michelle Yeoh took home the Best Actress Award — the first Asian to take that trophy home and joining Halle Berry as the only two women of colour to win the award..Yeoh won for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, which won eight awards from its 11 nominations..She was presented the award by Berry and Jessica Chastain, a departure from having the previous year’s winner for Best Actor (Smith) giving the award. Smith has been banned from the Oscars gala for 10 years for his slap on Rock..In part of her speech, she said, “For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities. This is proof that dreams, dream big, and dreams do come true.”.And then, with fist pumped, the 60-year-old delivered the figurative slap..“And ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you’re ever past your prime.”.It was an allusion to Don Lemon’s comment on CNN’s This Morning show last month that women past the age of 40 are also past their prime..On Monday, Lemon said of Yeoh’s win, “I thought it was particularly reaffirming especially for Asian Americans, American actors or just Asian Americans in the country,” adding, “I thought it was a really important and reaffirming moment for Asian Americans and I hope that you know they feel it in this country and that everyone does.”.According to the New York Post, CNN played a portion of Yeoh’s speech, but not the part about women never being past their prime and the panel also never discussed her remarks..On Feb. 16, Lemon commented on Nikki Haley announcing she would run for president in 2024, saying he thought it was wrong Haley should be saying politicians over the age of 75 should take cogitative tests, being that she was over 50..“This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable,” Lemon said then. “Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,” adding his source was Google. “That’s not according to me. It’s like, prime. If you look it up. If you Google ‘when is a woman in her prime,’ it’ll say 20s, 30s and 40s.”.Lemon was accused of sexism and ageism and suspended from the show for several days..After the discussion of the Oscars on CNN Monday, the Post reported, “Harlow then abruptly tried to wrap up the segment, saying, “alright, so let’s move on” as she shot a glance at Collins while Lemon sat between the two female presenters, staring expressionless into the camera.”.Talk of Yeoh’s figurative slap soon made the rounds on social media..“Nice sly dig at Don Lemon’s ‘past your prime’ line, #MichelleYeoh!!!” journalist Robert A. Georg tweeted..Another user wrote: ““Lololol @donlemon just got his ass handed to him to by Michelle Yeoh. So deserved. Lol.”.And a third asked: “Has anyone checked on #DonLemon?”
