Don Lemon, CNN’s troubled host, announced his dismissal on Monday.
Lemon posted a statement on Twitter that he had been terminated, calling himself “stunned” and expressing anger that he hadn’t been contacted directly.
“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN,” Lemon said. “I am stunned.”
CNN CEO Chris Licht said in a memo that the two outlets had parted ways.
“Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him luck and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors,” Licht wrote.
Lemon, who had been with CNN for 17 years, had been at the center of several scandals in recent memory, but he didn’t appear to believe his time at the network was coming to an end.
“I would have thought that after 17 years at CNN, someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.” “At no point was I told that I would be unable to continue doing the work I loved at the network,” Lemon continued. “It’s clear that there are some larger issues at play.”
Lemon then expressed gratitude to his now-former teammates.
“They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best,” Lemon said.
CNN pushed back on Lemon, saying his account was “inaccurate.”
“Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate,” its communications team wrote in a statement. “He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate. He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) April 24, 2023
Lemon was demoted from his renowned solo primetime role to an ensemble morning show with co-anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins last year, but he argued it wasn’t a demotion. In fact, he went on CNN and said that Licht had promised him a “promotion.”
It didn’t take long for “CNN This Morning” to create tabloid headlines after its November debut.
On Dec. 8, following CNN’s breaking news of Brittney Griner’s release from Russia, Collins attempted to interfere many times while Lemon was speaking. Lemon motioned with his finger over the desk and instructed her to “stand by one second.”
While off-air, however, 56-year-old Lemon got “nasty” at 30-year-old Collins, scolding her for interrupting him, which left her “visibly upset,” a source who witnessed the exchange told Fox News Digital.
The New York Post first reported on the incident, causing headaches for CNN honchos.
Lemon found himself in hot water again in February for claiming Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley was past her “prime” at age 51, citing Google as his source while stunning his female co-anchors in the process. Lemon offered a mea culpa during the network’s editorial call the next day, but female colleagues weren’t pleased.
source:ghanaianexpress.com
