Don Lemon’s Behind-The-Scenes Rift With CNN’s CEO Revealed

Don Lemon’s tenure at CNN came to an end on April 24, closing out his nearly two decades with the network and ending a tense period under new leadership. According to the New York Post, Lemon’s future with CNN seemed to be marked for doom early in the new regime’s takeover.

According to the Post, Lemon’s move to the daytime and his choice of wardrobe rubbed new CNN head Chris Licht the wrong way during the debut. The new CNN This Morning would feature Lemon alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, and Lemon chose to mark his arrival with an outfit featuring a white jacket with a fur collar.

“What the f-k is he wearing?,” Licht is reported to have said, according to a profile in The Atlantic on Friday. Lemon did take off the jacket before going on-air, but messed up the opening line, earning more derision from Licht. “Read the f-cking prompter.”

Licht reportedly wasn’t a fan of Lemon’s tendency to inject his own commentary and opinions into the segments, especially when it painted the network poorly. The Post cites his comments on GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley being out of “her prime.“

These moments are what would eventually lead to Lemon’s demise on CNN, not to mention his reported rivalry with Collins which led to an alleged outburst at the young reporter when Lemon accused her of interrupting him.

According to the Post, CNN executives felt salvaging Lemon on the morning show and wanted the host fired. He reportedly shot back with a “damage control” pitch in the form of a prime-time special on misogyny that he’d host with a roundtable of women. Licht rejected this idea, according to the outlet.

Lemon attempted to say his firing came out of nowhere, claiming CNN fired him via his agent and didn’t indicate he was on his way out. CNN responded with their own point of view. “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,” a statement from the network read.