Don Lemon has been fired by CNN after 17 years on the network. Lemon himself confirmed it on Twitter and CNN has released statements confirming the news as well. Lemon was not too thrilled with how everything went down, saying that he was unaware of his firing until his agent informed him. Lemon was fired on Monday, April 24th, 2023 but he showed up that morning for work as usual.
It is not clear if he was fired before or after the morning show he hosts alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlin Collins. CNN says that Lemon’s account of events regarding his firing is inaccurate. CNN says Lemon was offered an opportunity to speak to management, but instead took to Twitter to say that he was fired without warning from the network. The news of Don Lemon being fired by CNN isn’t necessarily anything surprising. The writing has been on the wall for a while now.
The first obvious sign of Lemon’s time on the network coming to an end was the hiring of new CEO Chris Licht. A couple of big anchors on CNN were fired soon after Licht’s hiring – namely Chris Cuomo and Brian Stelter. Shortly after these shakeups, and a few more, Lemon was demoted from his primetime “Don Lemon Tonight” show to the mid-morning/afternoon show with two female co-hosts.
This was a clear setup because Lemon has always had issues with female coworkers. Lemon does not get along well with women on set for some reason. This has been documented going all the way back to his first days on CNN when he would get into confrontations with the Soledad O’Briens of the world.
SOURCES:
Don Lemon says he has been fired from CNN
Don Lemon, CNN Star Anchor, Has Been Fired
Don Lemon, CNN Star Anchor, to Leave the Network – The New York Times
Don Lemon is out at CNN
Don Lemon out at CNN | The Hill
CNN’s Don Lemon Had History of Misogyny Before Nikki Haley Comment – Variety
