Nearly a year after being fired by CNN after 17 years with them, Don Lemon is laughing all the way to the bank. He was just paid $24.5 million. That’s the amount of money CNN still owed Lemon for the three remaining years left on his contract. I’m sure you can all remember how he got here. But if not, here’s a refresher course on what not to say on air at a far-left network.
In April 2023, Lemon landed in some hot water when he said on CNN’s This Morning that current Presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who was 51 years old at the time, is not in her prime.
“She says politicians are not in their prime? Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
Lemon’s comments were immediately branded as sexist. But they were just the final straw that led to his firing from CNN. This isn’t the first time he’s courted controversy.
According to an article in Variety dated April 5, 2023, shortly after Lemon was let go from CNN, he was well-known among his coworkers for pretentious and arrogant behavior. He even allegedly sent threatening text messages to a former coworker. This was supposedly done out of frustration since he was passed over for a high-profile job that involved covering the Iraq War.
When Lemon’s coworker returned from Iraq, the texts he allegedly sent to her were ominous.
One of them said, “Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it.”
Despite what has happened to him, Lemon is poised to be back in the spotlight sooner rather than later. Not only is he being paid a handsome severance package from CNN, but he’s also set to host his own show on X simply called “The Don Lemon Show.”
Lemon’s move to X is intriguing to say the least. His counterpart on the other side of the political aisle, Tucker Carlson, also hosts his own show on the social media platform.
Carlson went through a strikingly similar situation before being let go from Fox News on April 24, 2023.
Time will tell if Lemon will be able to rebuild his credibility as a journalist now that he’s no longer under the thumb of CNN, and those who push a far-left narrative. He claims to be for free speech. It’s time for him to put his money where his mouth is.
