CNN accused Don Lemon of lying on Monday after the fired anchor claimed that none of the network’s top brass reached out to tell him he was out of a job.
Lemon, whose final months at CNN were marred by a series of high-profile scandals, had suggested earlier in the day that he was blindsided by the news of his dismissal.
“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,” CNN said in a statement posted on its PR team’s Twitter account.
The scorching statement directly refuted Lemon’s claim less than an hour earlier regarding the circumstances of his sudden exit.
“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 the decency to tell me directly,” Lemon said in a statement on his own Twitter account.
“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,” he added. “It is clear that there are some larger issues at play.”
The network’s initial statement on Lemon’s exit was far more deferential, noting that the two sides had “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,” CNN had said earlier in the day.
Lemon’s downfall capped a chaotic series of events. He was pulled out of the primetime lineup last fall and named as a co-host of the network’s revamped “CNN This Morning” show, alongside Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow.
The most scrutinized event occurred in February, when Lemon rankled his co-hosts by declaring that GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime” – a comment widely decried as sexist. Lemon later apologized.
Weeks later, a bombshell Variety report alleged years of “diva-like” and misogynistic behavior by Lemon while working at CNN.
The controversies leading up to Don Lemon’s CNN firing
Don Lemon is no stranger to controversy.
The now ex-CNN anchor was in hot water multiple times in the lead-up to Monday’s shock firing — from his infamous Nikki Haley “past her prime” remark to a screaming match with a female co-host and alleged “diva” behavior.
CNN hasn’t provided a public explanation for Lemon’s ouster after 17 years with the cable news network. But Lemon took to Twitter to insist that he had been blindsided by the news after hosting “CNN This Morning” earlier in the day.
Below are just a few of Lemon’s recent controversies.
Beef with his co-host
In December last year, Lemon is said to have “screamed” at his co-anchor, Kaitlan Collins, after an on-air segment, sources told The Post at the time.
When the cameras stopped rolling after the Dec. 8 show, he allegedly approached Collins and unleashed on her in front of staffers for supposedly “interrupting” him on air.
“Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio,” one source said.
In the aftermath, a source said: “At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible … It’s messy.”
Soccer spat
Just weeks before his alleged screaming match, Lemon clashed with his two female co-hosts over on-air remarks he made about women’s soccer.
Lemon got into an awkward dispute with both Collins and Harlow after he suggested the US men’s soccer team should get paid more than the women’s side.
“The men’s team makes more money. If they make more money, then they should get more money,” Lemon said.
“The men’s team makes more money because people are more interested in the men.”
Diva-like behavior
A damning Variety magazine report published earlier this month alleged Lemon has a long history of sexist and “diva-like behavior.”
The report cited roughly a dozen former CNN staffers who listed several alleged instances of misogynistic behavior.
Read more of the Post’s Don Lemon coverage
The Post reported that CNN staffers saw Lemon as a major distraction and are said to be “ecstatic” about his exit.
Sources said there wasn’t one specific incident that led CNN to cut ties with Lemon.
Instead, CNN management saw that Lemon’s outbursts and bad behavior were not “getting better” and were part of a “pattern.”
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
