Don Lemon, the 57–year–old CNN anchor and former poster–boy of the liberal establishment, was finally given his marching orders this week after 17 years of employment at the cable news network.
Reports emerged last year that Lemon had become ‘untouchable‘ at the network, with female CNN employees increasingly concerned about his alleged cruel misogyny and maltreatment of co–workers.
The final straw came last week when Lemon became visibly frustrated with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy during an interview, accusing him of lying and failing to provide evidence. This outburst was not the only issue, however, as Lemon was also accused of cutting off his female co–host Poppy Harlow during the same interview.
However, viewing figures for his show collapsed by 61% back in March, prompting CNN Chairman Chris Licht to move to steer the struggling network away from its increasingly stale and partisan political commentary.
In December, he was accused of berating colleague Kaitlan Collins for interrupting him during a segment, causing her to flee the set in tears.
Then in February, Lemon made a shockingly misogynistic comment about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, saying she “isn‘t in her prime“. His co–anchor Poppy Harlow was stunned by the remark, asking “prime for what?”. Harlow reportedly left the studio after this incident.
The controversy only increased when Variety Magazine ran an exposé on Lemon‘s history of misogyny at the network, dating back to when he co–anchored a show with veteran journalist Kyra Phillips in 2006.
The Variety piece was dismissed by CNN as “unsubstantiated“ – but this did not stop the tide of negative reports emerging. Sources claimed that women were refusing to appear on television alongside Lemon, and insiders branded the punishment of a single day of training and a “frank and meaningful conversation“ with Licht a “f***ing joke“.
In light of all this, CNN finally took the decision to fire Lemon. They have yet to announce his replacement, but a senior producer said that Lemon “will never be welcomed back. He has burned all his bridges here“.
Don Lemon utterly TRIGGERED after Vivek Ramaswamy OWNS him on Civil War and blacks' gun rights ON HIS OWN SHOW🔥
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 20, 2023
