Even as the news was breaking Monday that Tucker Carlson was parting ways with the Fox News Channel, another cable news anchor, Don Lemon, announced on Twitter he had been fired by CNN.
“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned,” Lemon wrote. “I am stunned.”
“After 17 years at CNN, I would have thought someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.
“At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network? It is clear there are some larger issues at play.
With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best.”
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) April 24, 2023
Lemon’s ouster comes in the wake of an exposé by Variety this month focusing on allegations he mistreated female colleagues at the network. He also faced serious blowback earlier this year concerning comments he made on-air.
CNN CEO Chris Licht said that the network and Lemon have “parted ways,” according to a memo provided to NBC News Monday.
“Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years,” the statement said. “We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”
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Lemon joined CNN in 2006, after anchoring at the NBC affiliate in Chicago, as well as stints with the “TODAY” show and “NBC Nightly News.”
The anchor became the focus of fresh scrutiny in February when he suggested Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, 51, was no longer in her “prime.”
“Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry,” Lemon said on “CNN This Morning.”
“When a woman is considered to be in her prime – in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s.”
When co-anchor Poppy Harlow pressed him on the remark, Lemon told her not to “shoot the messenger.”
Licht said Lemon agreed to training in the wake of public backlash, and told Semafor earlier this month that both CNN and Lemon have “moved on” from the issue.
“Don Lemon is a lightning rod because he really came to prominence during an era where that was celebrated and encouraged in prime time,” Licht said.
On April 5, Variety published a report documenting a long history sketchy behavior toward women by Lemon, who is homosexual.
Variety indicated more than a dozen former and current colleagues described Lemon as openly hostile to women at the network.
A spokesperson for Lemon told NBC News following the report it was “amazing and disappointing that Variety would be so reckless.”
“The story, which is riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence, is entirely based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip,” the spokesperson said.
Responses to Lemon’s tweet announcing his firing include:
hey are you gonna update your twitter bio? pic.twitter.com/zdQ3e6Mrhm
— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) April 24, 2023
via wnd
