Lemon and Kelly are engaged in a battle of words following the former Fox News anchor’s comments on Joy Reid being fired at MSNBC

Don Lemon (left); Megyn Kelly. Photo:Kaitlyn Morris/Getty; Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Don Lemon wants to “hold up a mirror” for Megyn Kelly following her controversial comments about women in media.

On the Wednesday, Feb. 26 episode of his YouTube show, Lemon, 55, doubled down on his criticism of Kelly’s response to his former coworker, Joy Reid, being let go from her job at MSNBC, while also highlighting previous times she has said “sexist” things about other women. The former CNN anchor said “someone had to stand up” following Kelly’s comments, while also revealing that he was “quite disappointed” in Kelly’s response to his previous comments on her thoughts on Reid.

Kelly claimed Lemon was “trying to get press,” which he called a “weak” response. He then said that she “should be supportive of all women, even a Black woman, even someone as a journalist who she disagrees with.”

Lemon previously called out Kelly, 54, on the Monday, Feb. 25 episode of his show after the ex-Fox news pundit posted a message on X voicing her approval of Reid being let go.

From left: Don Lemon, Megyn Kelly and Joy Reid.Jamie McCarthy/Getty; Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

Joy Reid Exits MSNBC Hours After Lester Holt’s Big NBC Announcement amid Series of TV News Axes and Reshuffles

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“Remember when Joy Reid laughingly mocked ‘White women tears’ as pathetic and offensive to her? Who’s crying now, Joy?” Kelly wrote. “Good riddance to the absolute worst person on television, and shame on NBC for letting it go on this long.”

Lemon responded on his show, saying, “So let me just say to Megyn Kelly, in my 30-some years as a journalist and my 50-some years as a person of color: Go f— yourself. Okay?”

He added, “The worst person from television was fired from NBC and the Today show a few years ago, and that was Megyn Kelly.” (Lemon, meanwhile, was fired from CNN in 2023.)

Megyn Kelly on Today. Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

Kelly’s talk show Megyn Kelly Today began in late 2017 and was canceled in 2018 due to her comments defending White people dressing in blackface for Halloween.

On Wednesday’s episode of his YouTube show, Lemon elaborated on why he felt the need to speak out, despite it being “something that is out of my character.” The podcast host said Kelly claims to be “some big proponent of women’s rights” while insulting women on a “daily” basis.

A Timeline of CNN Host Don Lemon’s Controversies

He then highlighted a moment from a 2024 episode of Kelly’s The Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM, during which she called CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins “a cold-hearted bitch” and advised her to “smile more.” Lemon seized on her comments, noting that women are often told by men that they would be “prettier” if they smiled more, and illustrated his point with a clip from The Simpsons and a viral TikTok of New York women’s reactions to the directive from a man on the street.

“Tell a woman to smile, see what their reaction would be,” he said.

Lemon then appeared to stop just short of calling Kelly a bitch, saying, “So just one last thing — and I don’t know if I’ll comment on it anymore unless she does something egregious — Megyn, okay, I’m just saying maybe people would like you, and the women would like you more, if you weren’t such a… what you said about my former colleague?”