Don Lemon has been fired by CNN after 17 years with the network.
The 57-year-old took a temporary leave from the network in February after he claimed on-air presidential candidate Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime” as a 51-year-old woman, and he announced on Monday CNN fired him with no warning.
“Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,”
That comment earned him calls from women’s rights advocates to have him fired.
The ‘CNN This Morning’ anchor revealed he has been left “stunned” by the sudden move.
“CNN and Don have parted ways,” the network said.
“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.”
Lemon took to Twitter to release a statement slamming the network for failing to tell him in person and instead leaving it to his agent to deliver the news.
“I am stunned,” he said.
“After 17 years at CNN I would have thought someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.”
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) April 24, 2023
CNN, a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, on Monday, disputed Lemon’s account of his departure. The network called Lemon’s comments “inaccurate,” saying he was “offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
The anchor’s firing also follows a Variety story this month that alleged Lemon had a history of threatening and making offensive remarks to female staffers at CNN. The report was based on more than a dozen former and current colleagues of Lemon, Variety said. Most of them spoke anonymously to the outlet. -CNBC
Credit: NBC, MSN, The Independent