Don Lemon Breaks Silence After CNN Firing

Don Lemon gave his first interview since he was fired from CNN this weekend. The 57-year-old anchor spoke to ABC24 in Memphis, Tennessee on his way into a NAACP event. He seemed to suggest that his firing from CNN involved a moral conflict.

“I have a responsibility not only as a journalist, but as an American, to tell the truth,” Lemon said on Sunday. “And to abide by the promises of the Constitution, because the Constitution says a more perfect union. Not a perfect union. I’m not a perfect person. No one is. In order to fulfill the promise of the Constitution, we have to stand up for what is right. We have to stand up for the truth.”

Lemon went on to say that he does not believe in “platforming liars and bigots and insurrectionists and election deniers, and putting them on the same footing as people who are telling the truth, people who are fighting for what’s right, people who are abiding by the Constitution.” Lemon did not name any names, but it’s worth noting that he was fired about five weeks before CNN’s extremely controversial televised town hall event with former President Donald Trump.

“That is what has gotten me to this point, and that is what is going to carry me forward,” Lemon 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, which is freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.”

As for what comes next, Lemon said candidly that does not know yet. He said: “I’m not going to force anything. I’m not going to let other people’s timeline influence me. I don’t have to be in a rush. I think sometimes people rush to make decisions and they end up making the wrong decisions. I’m not worried at all. People are concerned about me, and are more worried about me than I am about myself. I’m fine.”

Lemon was fired from CNN on April 24, and he sparked a lot of controversy by lashing out at network executives on social media. Since then, CNN CEO Chris Licht was fired from the network as well. Many viewers wondered if Lemon might return in the wake of Licht’s exit, but so far there has been no word about any plans on that front.