Hours after anchoring ‘CNN This Morning’ Don Lemon says he’s been fired

By Michael P. Hill Article may include affiliate links

CNN has terminated Don Lemon, the anchor announced April 24, 2023.

Lemon, who was anchor of “CNN This Morning,” tweeted at 12:14 p.m. eastern that he was “informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN.”

He jabbed CNN management by saying “… I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.”

CNN later released a statement calling Lemon’s tweet “inaccurate” and said he was offered the chance to meet with executives but instead opted to release his own statement on Twitter. It did not, however, clarify if Lemon’s claim that he heard from his agent initially was accurate.

Lemon’s announced came just hours after he finished anchoring what would be his final edition of “This Morning.”

Lemon first joined CNN in 2006 from NBC.

He eventually anchored “CNN Tonight” — later retitled “Don Lemon Tonight” before being picked to co-anchor “This Morning” with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.

“This Morning” is CNN’s attempt at a revived morning show after its “New Day” offering failed to gain traction after several anchor changes.

CNN did not respond to multiple outlet’s requests for comment. It has also not confirmed Lemon’s departure.

There’s no word on how the networks plans to fill the third anchor chair on “This Morning,” though given it was a three anchor show, it’s likely possible to continue with just Collins and Harlow for the time being (the show has used dual anchors before when one was out).

Lemon has recently been under fire for comments he made on-air about Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, where he said he felt she was no longer in her “prime” due to her age.

He was also reportedly not getting along with Harlow or Collins and had agreed to undergo training. There were also separately allegations published in Variety claiming Lemon had a history of mistreating women, though Lemon’s spokesperson called the claims “reckless.”

Compounding all of that is that “This Morning” has failed to post significant improvements in the ratings, with many shows coming in lower than “New Day.”

Lemon now joins fellow former anchor Chris Cuomo in the “fired from CNN” club. The two, whose shows aired back-to-back on the network and often garnered attention for their back-and-forth chatter during the handoff, were reportedly good friends.

Cuomo was fired after an internal investigation revealed he violated network ethics policies by helping his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, fight allegations of sexual misconduct.

Cuomo is currently suing CNN for $125 million for wrongful termination.