What Led to Don Lemon and CNN Parting Ways?

By
Conservative Research Group
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The news cycle has been filled with a lot of news, including the shocking news that Fox News and popular commentator Tucker Carlson “parted ways”, and the reports that CNN fired long-time anchor Don Lemon.

Everyone wants to know what happened, why it happened, how it went down, etc.

Lemon claims that he was informed by his agent that his “employment” had been terminated, while CNN’s public relations team says that he was indeed offered the opportunity to speak with higher-ups about the situation. Lemon’s departure from CNN is a fact, regardless of this particular point. People are curious about the reasons for it.

Variety reported that the embattled “This Morning” co-host at CNN was causing problems for Warner Bros. ad salespeople. Discovery and booking agents had a lot of trouble getting guests to his show. Their sources also told them that Lemon couldn’t connect to average viewers.

According to a CNN executive familiar with the situation, Lemon’s inability to connect with his audience had become a concern for executives. This person claims that bookers had difficulty in securing certain guests and ad sales executives at Warner Bros. was also having trouble. Discovery had difficulty attracting sponsors for the show.

Who could blame them after Lemon’s “Nikki Haley’s not in her prime” remarks blew up the Internet and CNN in February?

As Lemon also stated, they reported that his agent had been told about the incident before he even knew it — and it wasn’t from Licht:

The dismissal of Lemon by CNN was not warm. According to a person familiar with the conversation, a senior CNN executive, not CEO Chris Licht, called Lemon’s UTA agent, Jay Sures. Lemon was just on “CNN This Morning,” the Monday broadcast. CNN issued a statement disputing these details. The company stated that Lemon was given the opportunity to meet management, but chose instead to release a Twitter statement.

Variety noted that Lemon’s former “This Morning” co-hosts Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins may also be discussing the matter on Tuesday’s program. This would equate for Lemon’s most ardent critics to a little bit of karma, considering how CNN Insiders regularly leaked to the press how shabbily Lemon allegedly treated Harlow, Collins, and staffers on the set, including some at CNN, who published the organization’s “news” newsletter.

Lemon’s departure from CNN comes only two weeks after Variety published a detailed article claiming that “more than a dozen current and former colleagues… painted a portrait of a reporter who flouted the rules and cozied up to power while displaying an open hostility towards many female coworkers”, with Lemon “charming” his way out of facing any meaningful consequence each time.

CNN initially reacted to the report, criticizing it for being anonymously sourced despite the fact that anonymous sourcing is the basis of many of CNN’s “blockbuster stories”.

Was it a case of ‘where there is smoke, there is fire’? Lemon’s twerking on a New Year’s Eve broadcast two years ago will no doubt be revealed in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we can all enjoy (or not) the entertainment of Lemon’s twerking.

Sorry, not sorry!!!