Don Lemon, former CNN host, is a laughing stock.
A report by The Wrap states that Lemon will receive from CNN a settlement of approximately $24.5 million. This is the equivalent of his total pay for the remainder of his contract which still had three and half years to run.
Lemon’s status at the network was under scrutiny after he lost his nightly slot and moved to a morning show that had fewer viewers. He sparked further controversy on that show when he said that Republican presidential nominee Nikki Haley had passed her prime.
A recording of former CEO Chris Licht telling employees that Lemon’s comments were “upsetting and unfair to his fellow hosts, and ultimately, a big distraction from the great work this organization does” was obtained by The New York Times.
Lemon was soon fired by CNN, a move that left him “stunned,” and he claimed it had been made with “a lack of decency.” He posted on social media:
My agent informed me this morning that CNN has terminated my employment. I am stunned. After 17 years working at CNN, I would have expected that someone from management would have the decency to tell me straight out. No one ever told me that I wouldn’t be able to continue doing the work I loved at CNN.
There are larger issues at work. In closing, I would like to thank all of my colleagues as well as the teams with whom I have worked for their incredible work. These are the most talented and professional journalists I have ever met. I wish them the very best.
It was a matter of dispute as to how much compensation the company would pay. The answer appears to be the full amount.
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) April 24, 2023
Lemon said in an interview with Kara Swisher shortly after his dismissal that CNN wanted to take a “different direction” than his content.
He explained:
CNN, their strategy, and their content, and the direction that they wanted to take, I wasn’t a part. They didn’t want to have me as a member of the management team at CNN. I believe that’s evident from what’s been said publicly about CNN and its current actions.
Lemon’s settlement is not the only big payday he will receive this year. Lemon announced last month that he was launching his show exclusively on X, the platform Lemon praised for being the “largest space in the world for free speech”.
Lemon wrote, “I have heard you…and today I am bigger, bolder and freer!” Lemon at the time. “The Don Lemon Show is the first project of my new media company. The Don Lemon Show will be accessible to all, wherever and whenever you need it.
Congratulations. It’s a new world. Welcome. https://t.co/bdm3h7Nsxd
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) January 9, 2024
In the next few weeks, Elon Musk’s show is expected to be launched. It reportedly cost a lot of money. He will be joining former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to post exclusively on the X platform.
