Don Lemon Fired from CNN

CNN fired anchor Don Lemon, after a history that included an on-air verbal spat and allegations of emotional volatility.

Don Lemon out

The first reports broke this morning. Variety broke the story at 9:25 a.m. EDT. Atttttttttttttt 12::14 p.m. EDT, he left this tweet:

That tweet contains only the image of text. But Variety seems to quote the statement in full:

I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned. 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. It is clear that there are some larger issues at play.

With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best.

Chris Licht, CEO of CNN, had a somewhat different take:

Variety also had this description of the sacking:

CNN’s dismissal of the anchor was not warm. A senior CNN executive — not CEO Chris Licht — called Lemon’s agent at UTA, Jay Sures, according to one person familiar with the exchange. Lemon had just been on “CNN This Morning” for its Monday broadcast. In a statement, CNN disputed those details. “Lemon was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter,” the company said.

That statement occurs above. Here is CNN’s reply:

Misogynist, anti-Semite,…

Don Lemon had lately become a thorn in CNN’s side. In February, according to Variety, he told Ambassador Nikki Haley that she was past her prime. Variety also reported on Lemon’s nasty reputation with women – not affairs but clearly malicious behavior. Lemon angrily called Variety staff liars.

This video gives an example of objectively poor performances by Lemon in handling an adversarial interview subject:

CNN stock has traded mixed and relatively flat all day long.

The Gateway Pundit (here and here), MRC-TV, Real Freedom Talk, The Daily Caller, OANN,and The Post Millennial all contributed.

About the image

The image of Don Lemon is a crop of a photo from a “Town Hall” meeting with President Biden. White House photographer Adam Schultz took the original shot; this image therefore is in the public domain.