CNN on Monday fired anchor Don Lemon within the wake of sexist on-air feedback and reports that he mistreated feminine coworkers throughout his 17 years on the community.
An hour earlier than Lemon introduced his termination, Fox News said that right-wing prime-time host Tucker Carlson is leaving the cable community instantly. On Sunday, NBCUniversal said CEO Jeff Shell has left his position attributable to an “inappropriate relationship with a girl within the firm.”
Lemon, who had hosted “CNN This Morning” as scheduled, mentioned his agent knowledgeable him about his termination Monday morning. Lemon mentioned he was “surprised” by the information.
“I’d have thought that somebody in administration would have had the decency to inform me instantly,” Lemon, 57, mentioned in a Twitter post. “At no time was I ever given any indication that I’d not have the ability to proceed to do the work I’ve cherished at this community.”
Lemon added that “it’s clear that there are some bigger points at play,” with out providing extra particulars.
CNN, a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, later Monday disputed Lemon’s account of his departure. The community referred to as Lemon’s feedback “inaccurate,” saying he was “supplied a possibility to fulfill with administration however as an alternative launched an announcement on Twitter.”
Shortly after Lemon first tweeted that he was fired, the community’s CEO, Chris Licht, mentioned the anchor and CNN “parted methods.”
“Don will ceaselessly be part of the CNN household, and we thank him for his contributions over the previous 17 years,” the community mentioned in an announcement. “We want him effectively and will likely be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”
CNN added that the morning present Lemon hosted alongside anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins would proceed to run. The program has been on air for practically six months, and the community mentioned it’s “dedicated to its success.”
Lemon confronted backlash in February for his remarks about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley shortly after she introduced a bid for the White House.
“Nikki Haley is not in her prime, sorry. A girl is taken into account to be of their prime in 20s and 30s and perhaps 40s,” Lemon said on the air of the 51-year-old Haley.
Lemon apologized for his remarks about Haley.
Licht also said in late February that Lemon would endure formal coaching due to the the sexist feedback. The community head earlier this month advised Semafor earlier this month that each CNN and Lemon have “moved on” from the problem.
Lemon’s firing additionally follows a prolonged Variety story this month that alleged the anchor had a historical past of threatening and making offensive remarks to feminine staffers at CNN.
The report was primarily based on greater than a dozen former and present colleagues of Lemon, Variety mentioned. Most of them spoke anonymously to the outlet.
Variety’s report says that, amongst different incidents, Lemon obtained indignant when he was handed over for a reporting project in favor of former CNN correspondent Kyra Phillips in 2008. Lemon had been anchoring CNN’s “Live From” program on the time.
Phillips later obtained two threatening texts from an unknown sender, and CNN management ultimately traced them again to Lemon, in line with Variety.
A spokesperson for Lemon criticized the article on the time it was printed, telling NBC News in an announcement that it was “superb and disappointing that Variety can be so reckless.”
The spokesperson advised NBC that Variety’s story is “riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete proof, is totally primarily based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old nameless gossip.”
Before becoming a member of CNN in 2006, Lemon beforehand served as an anchor at NBC Chicago and correspondent for NBC News, the “TODAY” present and “NBC Nightly News.”
He has served because the prime-time anchor of CNN’s “Don Lemon Tonight” for greater than eight years, the community’s website says.
More than a 12 months in the past, CNN President Jeff Zucker resigned for failing to reveal a romantic relationship with a high-ranking colleague.
CNN additionally fired former prime-time anchor Chris Cuomo a 12 months earlier. The community’s determination adopted an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James that exposed how Cuomo helped his brother and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reply to sexual harassment allegations.
Cuomo filed an arbitration criticism towards CNN final 12 months, searching for $125 million for wrongful termination. That case continues to be pending.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the mother or father firm of NBC and CNBC.