Don Lemon is 'stunned' after being fired from CNN

Christian Holub
·2 min read
6
Don Lemon on CNN
Don Lemon on CNN
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CNN/Twitter Don Lemon on CNN

It's a bad day to be a cable news anchor.

Shortly after Fox News announced that they had parted ways with Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon announced on social media that he had been fired from CNN.

"I was informed by my agent this morning that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned," Lemon wrote in a public note posted to his social media accounts. "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 indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I loved at the network."

Lemon was first to break the news of his own termination, but CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht soon followed up with the company's official statement.

"CNN and Don have parted ways. Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years," Licht said in his statement. "We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors. CNN This Morning has been on the air for nearly six months, and we are committed to its success."

Licht's statement was read by Oliver Darcy live on CNN's Inside Politics with John King on Monday morning.

"I don't know the details happening while I'm sitting in the chair here, but I work here, I love this place, I certainly wish Don the best," King said in response. "He's always been good to me as a colleague."

Lemon has recently been embroiled in controversy at the network. He was briefly suspended from on-air appearances after a Feb. 16 segment in which he criticized Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley by saying that she "isn't in her prime" and that "a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and 40s." Lemon returned to the network on Feb. 22 after agreeing to participate in "formal training."

Earlier this month, Variety reported that Lemon had a history of sexist behavior and denigrating female colleagues dating back to 2008.

On Twitter, CNN's official PR account contested Lemon's version of events: "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."

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