Don Lemon Makes Emotional Farewell From CNN Show

Don Lemon let all of his feelings out in his farewell on Don Lemon Tonight. As widely reported, Lemon is switching to a new timeslot. The beloved host and commentator began working at CNN as a correspondent in 2006, before he joined the network fully in 2014. Last year, Lemon debuted Don Lemon Tonight. The 56 year old reflected on his last eight years in prime-time news before he transitions to CNN's morning show as a co-anchor alongside Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow. "Not goodbye, but certainly the end of an era as we sign off this last broadcast of Don Lemon Tonight, more than eight years, thousands of hours of live TV, historic moments and tough conversations," Lemon said in part. "A lot happened between 10 and midnight, or later."

He continued: "This is it, the final Don Lemon Tonight. It's a bittersweet moment for me, but it's not going to be a sad moment. I'm not going to be sad about it. I'm just going to miss working with all of the great people who really work their butts off every single day to put this show on the air. So tonight, this isn't about me, this is about you guys who are in the control room and in this studio. This is about you."

His exit from primetime comes after a heated, expletive-fueled, on-air discussion in which he blasted a Republican commentator in September 2022. The move was announced on Thurs. Sept. 15 and came following CNN's new chairman and CEO – Chris Licht – making major shakeups to reportedly save struggling ratings. 

In his goodbye, Lemon thanked his colleagues, reflecting on losing his sister in 2018. "I am immensely grateful to all of you. You will always be my family. We were all in this together. I'm not gonna miss the brain-fog from these hours, getting off at midnight, nor the late night meals, which gave me dad bod. All of us, we gained and lost so much weight together," Lemon joked.