CNN’s Don Lemon used his opening monologue on Friday to blast Virginia governor Ralph Northam over the racist photo resurfacing from his yearbook tonight.

Northam is facing bipartisan calls for his resignation in light of the news that his 1984 personal yearbook page featured a photo of him in a picture with two men: one wearing blackface, the other wearing a KKK get-up. It is difficult to tell which person in the picture is Northam, but he admitted to being one of them in the apologetic statements he released on the matter.

As Lemon addressed the commotion at the top of his show, he lamented that America’s history is full of politicians “who were proud to parade their racism publicly.” The CNN anchor also figured that “there was no way [Northam] didn’t know what he was doing” at that stage in his life when he stood for that picture.

Lemon continued by saying Northam’s comments illustrate an ongoing racism problem that exists in America, which he connected to President Trump‘s infamous “both sides” comments after the Charlottesville riots.

“There are certain situations…where there’s no ‘both sides.’ There’s no both sides to racism. There’s no both sides to sexism. There’s no both sides to fact or non-fact and reality and non-reality. There’s no both sides to a truth and a lie. There’s no both sides to this.”

Lemon continued by saying people who are shocked by Northam’s photo have been “living in a bubble,” because “people did this all the time” back in the 80s and never faced any consequences. He also said the excuse of youth and immaturity doesn’t apply to Northam’s situation since “this is more than dumb, this is racist.”

“If you’re making an excuse for it, you need to check yourself,” Lemon said. “If you even thought it was okay or you’re somebody like Ralph Northam, then you owe people like me a huge apology before you get on your high horse and get upset…Democrats who have called out President Trump for his racist remarks cannot try to sweep this one under the rug just because Ralph Northam is one of their own.”

Watch above, via CNN.

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from Mediaite http://bit.ly/2DOaHB0