CNN ‘terminates’ morning anchor Don Lemon

The move comes two months after Lemon drew criticism on for saying Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley wasn’t in her prime.

CNN anchor Don Lemon has left CNN. Picture: AFP.

Don Lemon and CNN are parting ways after 17 years.

CNN Chairman and Chief Executive Chris Licht said in a companywide email on Monday that Mr Lemon was departing the network.

He didn’t give a reason why Mr Lemon was leaving. Mr Lemon taped his last show on Monday morning.

“Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavours,” Mr Licht said in the email.

The move comes two months after Mr Lemon drew criticism on “CNN This Morning” for saying Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley wasn’t in her prime.

“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN,” the 57-year-old news anchor said Monday on Twitter. “I am stunned.” Mr Lemon likely will be paid out for the remainder of his contract, a person familiar with the matter said.

pic.twitter.com/8PyLqvS0d7

— Don Lemon (@donlemon) April 24, 2023

His departure is the third significant media-industry staffing change in two days. Fox News said Monday that Tucker Carlson, the network’s highest-rated prime-time host, taped his final show last week. NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast Corp., said on Sunday that its chief executive, Jeff Shell, was departing after an investigation into a complaint of inappropriate conduct.

Mr Lemon has been one of CNN’s most recognisable faces in recent years. He joined the network in 2006 as a reporter and in 2014 began anchoring the prime-time show “Don Lemon Tonight.” He switched to the morning side in November to co-host “CNN This Morning,” working out of the network’s New York bureau.

He had a brief and controversial run on the morning show. He agreed to participate in formal training and went off the air for several days in February after he made the comments about Ms. Haley. He and his co-anchors had been discussing Ms. Haley’s calls to test politicians for mental competency once they are older than 75.

Ms Haley’s campaign sought to take advantage of Mr Lemon’s departure by pushing out a fundraising email to supporters. “Don Lemon was just fired,” the email said, offering a “Past My Prime?” can cooler in exchange for a $7 contribution. “It’s a great day for women everywhere!” In Mr Lemon’s statement, he thanked his colleagues but also said there were “larger issues at play” regarding his departure, without offering specifics.

“After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly,” Mr Lemon said Monday. “At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network.” CNN disputed Mr Lemon’s statement, saying the network offered him an opportunity to meet with its management but he instead released a statement on Twitter.

One of Mr Licht’s deputies contacted Mr Lemon’s agent and said the network no longer wanted his services at CNN, a person familiar with the matter said. The deputy also offered Mr Lemon a meeting with human resources and Mr Licht, the person said.

“CNN This Morning,” which launched in November, was down more than 23 per cent in ratings in the first quarter as of late March, compared with its predecessor, “CNN New Day,” during the same period last year, according to Nielsen.

“CNN This Morning” had drawn 359,000 viewers, compared with 844,000 for MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and more than 1.2 million for “Fox & Friends,” according to Nielsen data. Including simulcasts on the HLN channel, “CNN This Morning” had drawn 438,000 viewers in the period, the network said.

“CNN This Morning has been on the air for nearly six months, and we are committed to its success,” Mr Licht said in his companywide email Monday.

The network launched “CNN This Morning” in a bid to overhaul its morning line-up with one of its most prominent anchors, Mr Lemon, at the helm. The show was the first major program Mr Licht added to CNN’s line-up since he was tapped early last year by CNN’s new owner, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., to run the network. He has indicated he wanted to change the perception that CNN’s political coverage was too partisan.

David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, has also said he wants CNN to return to its straight-news roots.

Mr Lemon is the latest high-profile journalist to leave CNN in the past 12 months, following Brian Stelter, the network’s chief media correspondent, and White House correspondent John Harwood.

Earlier Monday, a Fox News spokeswoman said Mr Carlson was leaving the network. His departure comes less than a week after Fox News parent Fox Corp. agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle its legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems. The voting-machine company had accused Fox’s news networks of airing false claims by hosts and guests that Dominion helped rig the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election in favour of Joe Biden.

Fox News didn’t say why Mr Carlson was leaving. Fox Corp. shares common ownership with the parent of The Wall Street Journal’s publisher.

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