Former CNN host Don Lemon returns with 'The Don Lemon Show,' new media company

Jay Stahl, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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Former CNN mainstay Don Lemon is making a comeback.

The former "Don Lemon Tonight" host is returning with a new media company and its first project, "The Don Lemon Show." In a statement on X, Lemon said he was "back bigger, bolder, freer!"

"It will be available to everyone, easily, whenever and wherever you want it, streaming on the platforms where the conversations are happening. And you'll find it first on X, the biggest space for free speech in the world," Lemon said.

Lemon said he wanted to create a space for honest debate and discussion without the "hall monitors" and encouraged viewers to stay tuned.

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon on the Time 100 Gala red carpet shortly after his exit from the network in April.
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon on the Time 100 Gala red carpet shortly after his exit from the network in April.

More: Don Lemon says he doesn't believe in 'platforming liars and bigots' after CNN firing

The career news comes after the embattled host's exit from the network's "CNN This Morning" in April. Lemon co-anchored "Morning" with now-primetime host Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow for around six months.

"I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned," he said in a Twitter statement in the spring.

News of CNN's breakup with Lemon broke shortly after news of Tucker Carlson's firing from Fox News. Former CEO Chris Licht, who exited the company in June, said in a statement that the network wishes him well and will cheer him on as he pursues future endeavors, in an email to CNN staffers obtained by USA TODAY.

"To my CNN Colleagues, 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.

Lemon came under fire at the time for a heated on-air interview with Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.

In a post-CNN exit exclusive interview with local news affiliate ABC24, Lemon addressed his departure.

"I don't believe in platforming liars and bigots and insurrectionists and election deniers and putting them on the same footing as people who are telling the truth, people who are fighting for what's right, people who are abiding by the constitution," he said in the interview. "That would be a dereliction of journalistic duty."

'I am stunned': Don Lemon fired by CNN, network disputes details

Contributing: Kelly Lawler, Morgan Hines, Charlie Trepany

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Don Lemon returns with new show and media company