Don Lemon’s CNN Ouster Was a ‘Business Decision’ and a ‘Long Time Coming,’ Says Exec
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Don Lemon’s abrupt firing on Monday just moments after he co-hosted “CNN This Morning” sent shockwaves throughout the news industry and now the reasons behind why CNN gave the anchor his walking papers are coming into focus.
Speculation was rampant both internally and externally Monday as Lemon’s colleagues and media peers wondered why exactly the anchor was fired: Was it the Nikki Haley comments that were deemed misogynistic? The heated interview with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy? An on-set clash with co-host Kaitlan Collins? Was it the morning show’s low ratings? It was all the above, apparently.
According to insiders, the decision wasn’t related to any one thing but rather a sum of the parts. And it certainly didn’t help Lemon that internal research showed that he was “not working” with CNN’s female-skewing audience in the morning, a network executive told TheWrap.
The exec said that Lemon’s missteps during his run on the morning show was beginning to cost CNN advertising dollars and booking the show was becoming problematic because some guests became reluctant to appear with him on “CNN This Morning.”
“It was a business decision,” the individual said.
As Warner Bros. Discovery continues its cost-cutting measures, some media insiders thought Lemon was being sacrificed for financial reasons. Perhaps, Licht needed to free up budget for his newest high-profile hires Gayle King and Charles Barkley? But that’s not the case. An individual with knowledge of the situation confirmed to TheWrap that Lemon would be paid out his reported three-year contract inked last year when he moved to the mornings — which has a remaining sum of about $25 million.
Lemon’s jump to mornings from his titular primetime show “Don Lemon Tonight” was always viewed as a demotion. The move represented Licht’s first major programming move and the network spin at the time was that he chose Lemon because he thought the anchor could help the network succeed in the mornings.
But another network insider told TheWrap, “I believe this was the plan all along, to move Don to mornings to set him up to fail. But Don just expedited it with his own behavior.”
“It was a long time coming,” the executive also said of Lemon’s ouster.
To add fuel to the fire, some top WBD executives and board members weren’t fans of Lemon, Brian Stelter (who was let go last year when the network canceled its long-running media talk show “Reliable Sources”) and the opinionated shows on CNN. Licht made it pretty clear early in his tenure that he was looking to build a less partisan news network.
Representatives for CNN and Lemon didn’t immediately respond to TheWrap’s requests for comment.
”It is clear that there are some larger issues at play,“ Lemon said in a statement about his termination, which rings pretty true after what insiders told TheWrap.
It’s almost hard to believe that just two years ago in May 2021, Lemon was seen as one of the most high-profile faces of the network with his primetime show being branded from “CNN Tonight With Don Lemon” to “Don Lemon Tonight.” He joined CNN in 2006 and quickly rose from correspondent to one of the news network’s top personalities.
Lemon was sent to cover some of the biggest stories across the world and quickly gained celebrity status as CNN’s most prominent Black anchor. He seemed to really hit his stride when he was chosen to host his own primetime show and often went viral for his “Don’s Take” op-ed segment in which he took direct aim at former President Donald Trump, racial injustice, gun violence and spoke out on LGBTQ issues. Lemon’s show aired back to back with former CNN host Chris Cuomo and the two had such great chemistry that the on-air handoff between the two gents spawned a podcast. He also co-hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve special along with then anchor Brooke Baldwin, often making the news for his antics during broadcast.
Insiders told TheWrap that Lemon had reservations about the move from his own primetime show to mornings, but didn’t see his CNN story ending quite like this.
Now after 17 years at CNN and just months into the new gig as a morning show host, Lemon finds himself unemployed.
“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have terminated by CNN,” Lemon posted to his social media Monday. “After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that 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.”
CNN clapped back saying it did reach out to Lemon.
“Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate,” the network said. “He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
The anchor’s ouster comes just over two months after Lemon made waves with a controversial comment that remarked that Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley “is not in her prime,” adding that a woman is “said to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe 40s.”
The remark infuriated his co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, leading Licht to denounce the comments in a staff meeting, saying Lemon’s “remarks were upsetting, unacceptable and unfair to his co-hosts, and ultimately a huge distraction to the great work of this organization.”
Lemon later apologized for the comments and resumed his “CNN This Morning” co-hosting duties the next week after participating in “formal training.”
But the hits just kept coming for Lemon this month. Variety also published a report that unveiled some unsavory behavior over the cable news anchor’s sprawling career, including accusations of misogyny, mocking female staffers and reckless “diva-like” behavior — accusations that Lemon vehemently denied.
Sharon Waxman and Loree Seitz contributed to this report.
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