CNN moves on from Don Lemon after 17-year run

TV host Don Lemon said he was abruptly fired by CNN on Monday, hours after he wrapped up the latest episode of the morning show he coanchors.

Mr. Lemon said in a statement posted on Twitter that his agent informed him of his firing this morning.

“After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly,” said Mr. Lemon, who said he was given no advance warning. “It is clear that there are some larger issues at play.”

Mr. Lemon then thanked his colleagues who he’s worked with on his “incredible run” at the network.

CNN media reporter Oliver Darcey shared an internal memo from CEO Chris Licht that confirmed the network was severing ties with Mr. Lemon.

“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,” Mr. Licht’s memo reads. “We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”

Mr. Lemon hosted the primetime show “Don Lemon Tonight” beginning in 2014 before a network shakeup had the show host join Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins on “CNN This Morning” last fall.

Mr. Lemon missed multiple episodes of the program in February to undergo sensitivity training after he said 51-year-old Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime.”

A report from Variety earlier this month detailed Mr. Lemon’s “diva-like” behavior and disrespectful actions toward former CNN colleagues such as Soledad O’Brien and Kyra Phillips.

Mr. Lemon was accused of sending a threatening text to Ms. Phillips when she was picked to cover the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq instead of him. He was also accused of saying Ms. O’Brien was not actually Black when she was tapped to cohost a docuseries on Black people. Ms. O’Brien is part White and part Afro-Cuban.  

A spokesperson for Mr. Lemon denied both of the allegations to Variety.

Mr. Licht, the network CEO, called Mr. Lemon a “lightning rod” during an April 10 discussion with new media outlet Semafor, but added that “CNN has moved on from that and Don has moved on from that.”