Don Lemon fired from CNN as network disputes claim no one in management gave him a heads up

CNN host Don Lemon on Monday said he was fired from the network in a tweet claiming no one in management had “the decency to tell [him] directly.”

Lemon’s claim was disputed by CNN’s public relations account, which insisted the former host'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," CNN Communications tweeted.

“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN,” Lemon wrote in a post on Twitter. “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.”
Lemon went on to say, “It is clear that there are some larger issues at play.”

According to the Daily Beast, CNN’s CEO Chris Licht confirmed the news in a memo to CNN staff. “CNN and Don Lemon have parted ways,” Licht wrote. “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.”

Citing a source familiar with the move, the Beast reports that Lemon’s former co-anchors, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, will continue as “CNN This Morning” hosts “for the time being. Lemon moved to the morning show last September in what private sources “considered a last-ditch effort to save the anchor’s job,” according to the Beast.

Lemon in February was taken off-air for a week after he claimed Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, 51, was “not in her prime.” According to the New York Post, that comment prompted Harlow and Collins to storm off set.

“A CNN insider said the latest high-profile incident may finally lead to Licht squeezing out Lemon from the morning gig,” the Post reported at the time.

Lemon’s comments about Haley followed another sexist rant last December, when the former CNN host defended the pay gap in professional soccer because male players are “more interesting to watch.”

According to the Beast, one female CNN staffer said she was “relieved” by the network’s decision.

“I really never thought that there wouldn’t be any accountability right,” the on-air personality said. “I mean, these guys are untouchable for the most part.”