On Monday, Don Lemon revealed to his Twitter followers that he has been terminated by CNN.
“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN,” Lemon’s statement began. “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.”
In response to Lemon’s statement, CNN said, “Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate. He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
In a statement, CNN said, “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. We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”
Most recently, Lemon was in hot water over comments made about Nikki Haley, being forced to undergo formal training and absent from CNN This Morning for several days.
In Late February, Lemon said of presidential candidate Nikki Haley saying politicians over the age of 75 should undergo mental competency tests, “I think that—I think it’s the wrong road to go down, she says people—you know—politicians or something, are not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry.”
Lemon went on to say women were in their prime “in their 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
“Wait, prime for what?” co-host Poppy Harlow asked.
“That’s not according to me,” Lemon said, later adding that “if you Google” women in their prime, that is the age range the search engine will return.
Harlow asked if there needed to be a “qualifier” such as “child-rearing” and Lemon responded, “I’m just saying Nikki Haley should be careful about saying that politicians are not in their prime and what they need to be in their prime when they serve because she wouldn’t be in a prime according to Google.”
Lemon was notably absent the day after the comments were made, but the absence was reportedly pre-planned for a weekend vacation.
The next week though, Lemon didn’t return to the program until Wednesday, undergoing “formal training” as to why his comments were wrong. During this time, female CNN staffers threatened to quit if Lemon was allowed back.
During Lemon’s absence from the morning show, CNN This Morning’s ratings went up by five percent.
In September, Lemon was removed from his long-held primetime slot to the morning show.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
