Don Lemon claimed he was fired for simply telling the truth and refusing to platform ‘liars, bigots, insurrectionists and election deniers,’ he said in his first sit-down interview since losing his job at the network.
Lemon was ousted from his longtime anchor role on the 24/7 news network in April after getting into arguments with several of his co-hosts on CNN This Morning and following a viral interview in which he attacked presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
His firing came as the newly-installed CEO Chris Licht planned to make some changes to the network, including having it lose its notorious woke angle. He, too, has since lost his role.
But Lemon now insists he was ‘standing up for what is right’ as he slammed Licht’s proposal to have more conservative voices on the air as a ‘dereliction of journalistic duties.’
‘I have a responsibility, not only as a journalist, but also as an American, to tell this truth and to abide by the promises of the Constitution, because the Constitution says “a more perfect union. Not a perfect union,”‘ Lemon said.
CNN is struggling to survive, with some insiders saying its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is even considering selling the property all together.
Don Lemon claimed in a new sit-down interview that he was fired for simply telling the truth and refusing to platform ‘liars, bigots, insurrectionists and election deniers’
He hit out at now-fired CEO Chris Licht, who said he planned to include more conservative voices on the notoriously woke network
In his first sit-down since he was unceremoniously fired, Lemon took aim at his former employer, saying he has a duty as a journalist to tell the truth.
‘In order to fulfill the promise of the Constitution, we have to stand up for what is right,’ Lemon told ABC24 Memphis. ‘We have to stand up for the truth.’
When asked about his now notorious interview with Ramaswamy, Lemon continued to say: ‘I don’t believe in platforming liars and bigots and, you know, insurrectionists and election deniers and put them on the same footing as people who are telling the truth for what’s right, people who are abiding by the Constitution.
‘I think that would be dereliction of journalistic duties to do those sort of things.
‘That is what has gotten me to this point, and that is what is going to carry me forward,’ he continued.
‘To know that I am doing the right thing, that I am standing up and abiding by the Constitution — which my profession demands that I do because we are listed in the First Amendment of the Constitution.’
Lemon said he now plans to spend the next few months with his fiancée Tim Malone and their dogs.
‘People are concerned about me and more worried about me than I am myself,’ he claimed. ‘I’m fine.’
Lemon stepped out with his partner Tim Malone and their three dogs close to their luxury Manhattan apartment the day after his firing
It came hours after his former colleagues thanked him for his ‘contributions’ to the network after they fronted CNN’s This Morning show for the first time without him
Lemon announced his own firing in a tweet on April 24 after creating controversies at the network
His remarks Saturday – while he was in Memphis to speak at an NAACP conference — marked the first time he has spoken out on-camera about his ouster since April when Lemon, himself, announced he had been fired.
On the day he was let go, Lemon tweeted: ‘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 someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.
‘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.
‘It is clear that there are some larger issues at play. With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best.’
But the CNN anchor had been mired in controversy in the months before his ouster.
During a segment of CNN This Morning in February, Lemon said women who were older than 40 years old were ‘past their prime,’ causing outrage among staffers and viewers alike.
He made the comments while discussing presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s proposal that politicians aged 75 and up should face mental competency tests.
Lemon, who is five years older than Haley said the politician should tread lightly on the topic because ‘a woman is in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.’
His co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins responded with apparent incredulity to the comment, only for Lemon to double down and insist that if viewers ‘Google it’ they would see he was right.
Both co-anchors reportedly stormed off the set after the segment, and Lemon’s position at the network was cast into doubt as staffers and viewers alike called for his sacking over what they said was just another incident in a long pattern of troubling misogynistic behavior from Lemon.
Sources inside CNN told DailyMail.com that females told management to pick between them and Lemon, saying ‘if Don doesn’t go, others have threatened to quit.’
‘People are hurt by his actions and are not going to let this go. It is like every woman over 50 in America has taken this as a personal insult. The female staffers at CNN definitely have. He needs to make his vacation a permanent one,’ the source said.
Lemon was not ousted at the time however, and instead was forced to deliver an apology to staffers, saying ‘What I said came out wrong and I wish I hadn’t said it. I believe women of any age can do anything they set their minds to. The people I am closest to in this organization are women.’
He later faced further criticism when he was interviewing GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and he spoke about being black in America.
‘When you are in black skin and you live in this country, then you can disagree with me,’ Lemon snapped at Ramaswany, an Indian-American man, before repeatedly accusing him of lying and failing to provide evidence.
Lemon previously told Extra he’s a ‘survivor’ after being axed from CNN after nearly 20 years on the network
Still, just a few days after he was fired, Lemon told Extra TV at the Time 100 gala that he was ‘stunned’ to learn of his termination after being a network staple for 17 years, but doesn’t have any ‘regrets.’
‘I live my life with no regrets. I did what I did and I own it, and so no, I don’t look back and I don’t want to change things in the past,’ he told the outlet.
‘There are lots of things that come your way that are unexpected, but I’m a survivor. I come from strong, sturdy stock in Louisiana and a lot of people are rooting for me and who love me.
‘Life goes on. That’s behind me and we’ll see what happens in the future.’
Lemon rose to glory in the Trump years while as CNN’s primetime liberal mouthpiece under the leadership of former CEO Jeff Zucker
Zucker, pictured in 2019, is reportedly looking into a return to CNN and is ‘likely to make a bid’ on the network, an insider claimed
Lemon rose to glory in the Trump years while as CNN’s primetime liberal mouthpiece under the leadership of former CEO Jeff Zucker.
But after Trump left office and CNN’s ratings started to plummet, Zucker was ousted and his replacement, Licht, vowed to return CNN to more even-keeled journalism.
Last November, Lemon was bumped to CNN This Morning, where he broadcast alongside the 40-year-old Harlow and 30-year-old rising star Collins, and reportedly spent the following months griping about his new posting.
Soon after, Licht was also sacked following a disastrous article in which he expressed doubts about the news network.
Now, insiders say Warner Bros. Discovery is considering selling the struggling network — including to previously ousted CEO Jeff Zucker.
The 58-year-old is allegedly preparing to capitalize on ex-CEO Chris Light’s surprise sacking to take over the network in time for the 2024 presidential election.
But insiders alleged that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s future plans are not yet clear, and several options are on the table for the mogul.
Alongside potentially remaining in his current position, one outcome could see a landmark deal struck, depending on the ongoing merger negotiations between NBCUniversal parent Comcast and Paramount.
If that merger, which has been in the works since 2021, is pulled off them Comcast would reportedly be looking to sell CBS News to avoid antitrust violations.
In that scenario, it has been predicted that Zaslav’s Warner Bros. Discovery could look to combine CNN and CBS in a blockbuster merger.
‘I could see a sale next year,’ said one industry insider. ‘Once Warner reduces its leverage, it will be more willing to sell non-core assets including CNN.’
Another media investor told The Post that to reap the best returns, CNN should be ‘absorbed’ by a corporation that already owns numerous cable channels – a strategy that would be both cost cutting and offer expansive programming power.
A further industry insider, who works on media mergers, added that Zaslav’s public sacking of Licht after just a year on the job is a ‘sign it is readying the cable news network for a sale’.
