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Don Lemon, a fixture at CNN for years, announced via social media that the network has let him go following a series of controversies and horrible ratings.
CNN announced on Monday that it was parting ways with Lemon, a star anchor who has been engulfed in controversy over the years, particularly in recent months.
“CNN and Don have parted ways,” the network said in a statement on Monday. “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 well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) April 24, 2023
Don Lemon OUT at CNN. Here is the note from Chris Licht. pic.twitter.com/9zfcaXwQ5s
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) April 24, 2023
Lemon was moved from his own primetime show to a three-person cast, and according to some reports, his departure from the network might be the only option left for him.
The current version of CNN’s morning show, “CNN This Morning,” which Lemon co-hosted with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, has reportedly received the lowest ratings of any CNN morning show to date.
“Since its Nov. 1, 2022 launch, “CNN This Morning” — hosted by Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins — has drawn in the lowest viewership among adults 25-54, the key demographic for cable news, and the second-lowest total viewership among each iteration of the network’s morning programming since ‘New Day’ was launched in June 2013, according to Nielsen data,” the outlet noted.
Earlier this year, Lemon was accused of being a misogynist and an ageist, but apparently, his misogyny stretches further back to a time when he began working at CNN as a new personality and was given a female cohost.
When Lemon was cohosting a show on CNN named “Live From” with Kyra Phillips, there was tension between the two of them. On occasion, a producer from the show had to take Lemon, who is gay, off the air during a commercial break because he was provoking his cohost.
Sources also reported that amidst the charged atmosphere, Lemon showed disrespect towards his colleague Nancy Grace on air and towards Soledad O’Brien during an editorial meeting that was attended by approximately 30 staff members, according to Variety.
While Lemon worked alongside Phillips on the close-knit Atlanta news team, his animosity towards her was particularly alarming for many team members. Sources who worked there at the time stated that during Phillips’ high-profile assignment in Iraq, which Lemon had desired, he expressed his disappointment by tearing up pictures and notes on her desk in their shared news pod.
When Phillips returned from Iraq, the situation became even more bizarre. During a dinner with members of the news team, she received the first of two threatening text messages from an unknown number on her flip phone, warning her that “Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it.” Phillips was visibly shaken and promptly sought CNN’s higher-ups to identify the sender, Variety noted further, adding:
Remarkably, the texts were traced back to Lemon, according to those same sources. A human resources investigation was launched, and while the findings were never disclosed to the growing pool of staffers who were aware of the situation, Lemon was abruptly pulled from his co-anchor duties with Phillips and moved to the weekends. It was a demotion by any objective measure and understood to be some kind of disciplinary action. It appears to be the last time he was paired with a female anchor until his most recent assignment on “CNN This Morning With Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins.”
“Don says the alleged incident never occurred and that he was never notified of any investigation. CNN cannot corroborate the alleged events from 15 years ago,” a CNN spokesperson said.
When Lemon's "Live From" co-anchor Kyra Phillips was on assignment in Iraq — a gig that Lemon coveted — he vented his disappointment by tearing up pictures and notes on top of and inside Phillips’ desk in the news pod they shared, according to two sources. https://t.co/0Iz9NvKFHv
— Variety (@Variety) April 5, 2023
CNN morning show co-host Kaitlin Collins appears to be ready to move on to something else, thanks mainly to a worsening relationship with Lemon.
According to sources who spoke to RadarOnline.com, Collins, 30, has “had private conversations about returning to Washington, D.C., leaving her on-air frenemy Don Lemon, 57, and Poppy Harlow, 40, in the dust. The revelation comes three months after Lemon blew up on Collins, ‘screaming’ and accusing her of ‘interrupting’ him after their December 8 broadcast.”
Now that Lemon is gone, it’s not clear that Collins will make the move.
