Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has announced his return to broadcasting with a new show on X, formerly Twitter, nearly a year after he was unceremoniously fired for sexist and ageist remarks on air.
On CNN in February, Lemon said that women who were older than 40 years old were ‘past their prime,’ causing outrage among staffers and viewers alike.
He made the comments while discussing presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s proposal that politicians ages 75 and up should face mental competency tests.
Now, he has teamed up with X-owner Elon Musk to announce the debut of the The Don Lemon Show, a 30-minute production appearing on the platform exclusively three times a week.
‘I’ve heard you and today I’m back bigger, bolder, freer!’ he told his followers on X.
The former presenter will be back on the airwaves for the first time since he was sacked by CNN in April over sexist and ageist remarks
Elon Musk’s X Business announced Lemon’s return to broadcasting, promising to share his ‘unique and honest voice’ on its platform
‘I know now more than ever that we need a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors.
‘This is just the beginning so stay tuned.’
His move to X mirror’s that of former Fox anchor Tucker Carlson has made the platform his home since being sacked on the same day as Lemon in the aftermath of Fox’s disastrous $787million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over allegations its equipment stole votes from President Donald Trump.
‘Congratulations. It’s a new world. Welcome,’ Carlson tweeted in response to the news from his new colleague.
Lemon was fired in April over his comments on the This Morning show.
Lemon, who at 56 is five years older than Haley, 51, said the politician should tread lightly on the topic because ‘a woman is in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.’
In a statement posted to Twitter, he wrote: ‘I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned. After 17 years at CNN I would have thought someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.
‘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.
‘It is clear that there are some larger issues at play. With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best.’
CNN’s communications team denied Lemon’s claims that he’d been terminated without ceremony, saying his ‘statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate. He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.’
The former TV host suggested he was responding to pressure from fans for his return
Lemon waves goodbye at the end of CNN This Morning – a moment that would prove to be his final appearance as a CNN anchor after 17 years with the network
Don Lemon once reigned supreme in the primetime slot at CNN during Trump’s presidency
Lemon reportedly angered both his CNN This Morning co-hosts, Kaitlan Collins (left) and Poppy Harlow (right), with his on-set behavior
Don Lemon tweeted out his outrage that he had been fired from CNN in April
The then Network CEO Chris Licht confirmed the firing in an internal message, thanking Lemon for 17 years on air and telling staff he would ‘forever be a part of the CNN family.’
Licht added that he was ‘committed’ to the success of CNN This Morning, the flailing morning news show Lemon had been helming with anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.
Things came to a head on February 16 during the discussion about GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s proposal that politicians ages 75 and up should face mental competency tests.
Lemon said discussing age in politics was ‘the wrong road to go down,’ then quickly went down that road.
‘She says people, you know, politicians are suddenly not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry, when a woman is in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,’ he said.
Harlow cut Lemon off, asking ‘What are you talking about? Prime for what?’ before Lemon pressed on while insisting ‘That’s not according to me.’
‘It depends. It’s just like, prime. If you look it up. If you Google ‘What is a woman in her prime’ it’ll say 20s, 30s, 40s,’ he said. ‘I’m not saying I agree with that. So, I think she has to be careful about saying that, you know, politicians are in their prime.’
‘Are you talking about prime for, like, childbearing? Or are you talking about prime for being president?’ Harlow asked.
‘Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just saying what the facts are,’ Lemon responded. ‘Google it. Everybody at home, when is a woman in her prime? It says 20s, 30s and 40s.’
‘I’m just saying Nikki Haley should be careful about saying that politics are not in their prime, and they need to be in their prime when they serve. She would not be in her prime according to Google or whatever it is.’
Throughout the interaction, Lemon directed all of his comments to Harlow, while Collins remained out of the fray. Later during the show when CNN podcast host Audie Cornish joined and questioned Lemon’s point, he refused to back down.
‘The idea of prime that you Google on the internet, that’s about sexual and reproductive prime, that’s not actually about mental health and aging.’ Cornish said. ‘No one is going look at Nikki Haley and say, ‘is she in her prime or not?”
Lemon responded, ‘Eh, I don’t know.’
Harlow reportedly stormed off the set after the exchange, according to a report from the New York Post.
Back in September 2022, Lemon was also accused of misogyny after asking a Republican panelist SE Cupp, 43, whether she was suffering from ‘mommy brain’ after losing her train of thought.
After Cupp finished her point, Lemon ignored what she said and instead focused on her verbal lapse.
‘Is it fair to say this, because I’m not a mommy, but is it mommy brain?’ he asked.
Cupp appeared bewildered by the question as a silence hung over the panel for a moment.
‘No,’ she finally said, drawing the word out, ‘I just forgot what I was going to say.’
Lemon’s behavior towards women goes much farther back. In 2018 he was called out for repeatedly interrupting two female commentators on a panel, then told another male panelist to not interrupt and let the women finish their points.
Then in June 2021, Lemon was called out on social media in June of 2021, accused of interrupting and being rude to panelist Brianna Kielar.
The pair had been discussing then-president Trump and the Republican party, where Lemon described him as the ‘Wizard of OZ’.
Host Brianna attempts to make a point, and Don quickly says, ‘hang on Brianna, please,’ and continued on with his opinion.
Some on Twitter said he ‘dressed down’ his female co-worker, accusing him of talking to women ‘just like Donald Trump.’
And while interviewing Joan Tarshis, a woman who accused Bill Cosby of forcing her into oral-sex, Lemon drew fire for asking her why she didn’t stop him from raping her by biting his penis.
Lemon signed off from his final show, saying ‘Bye everyone,’ with a wave. Little more than three hours later at 12:14pm, he announced his surprise firing in a tweet.
Shortly after news of Lemon’s firing broke, a source told DailyMail.com ‘Don was given every indication when he made the fake a** apology for his disgusting comments and, still, no one wanted anything to do with him.’
They continued, ‘No one owes him anything. He should have had the decency to not be a misogynistic, sexist POS.’
Former CNN CEO Chris Licht confirmed the firing of Don Lemon in April, two months before he was also sacked
Don Lemon asked SE Cupp whether she lost her train of thought because of ‘mommy brain’
‘Don truly believed he was going to always get a get out of jail free card because he is black and gay, which worked to his advantage until it couldn’t.’
‘It doesn’t matter what color you are or what your sexuality is. He lost the respect of all of the women on staff, and no one wanted to work with him.’
‘Even after this, he still acted no differently and would give the women he worked with attitude because he could sense that they felt a certain way still.
‘Good riddance and good luck getting a job elsewhere.’
The best of the worst of Don Lemon
Was Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 swallowed by a black hole? – During coverage of the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 in 2014, Don Lemon asked a panel of experts whether it was possible the Boeing jet might have been swallowed up by a black hole:
‘People are saying to me, why aren’t you talking about the possibility – and I’m just putting it out there – that something odd happened to this plane, something beyond our understanding?’ he asked.
‘What if it was something fully that we don’t really understand? A lot of people have been asking about that, about black holes and on, and on, and on, and all of these conspiracy theories,’ he continued, adding comparisons to the Bermuda Triangle and the television show Lost.
US Department of Transportation inspector general Mary Schiavo said the theories were unlikely:
‘Well, it is. A small black hole would suck in our entire universe so we know it’s not that. The Bermuda Triangle is often weather. And Lost is a TV show,’ she said.
Don Lemon espouses about whether a missing jetliner was sucked into a Black Hole
Why didn’t you just bite his penis? – While interviewing Bill Cosby sexual assault accuser Joan Tarshis, Lemon asked her why she didn’t stop him from raping her by biting his penis:
‘You know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you don’t want to do it,’ he said.
‘I was kind of stoned at the time, and quite honestly, I that didn’t even enter my mind. Now I wish it would have,’ Tashis said.
‘Right. Meaning the using of teeth, right?’ Lemon asked, ‘As a weapon.’
‘Ouch,’ Tashis said, ‘No, it didn’t cross my mind.’
Pull your pants up, black people – In 2013 while talking about Bill O’Reilly’s controversial comments that unmarried black women need to stop having children and inner city schools need to enforce discipline, Lemon argued the Fox News host’s plans to elevate black people wasn’t as bold as it should be.
‘In my estimation, he doesn’t go far enough,’ said Lemon, ‘Walking around with your a** and your underwear showing is not okay. In fact, it comes from prison. When they take away belts from prisoners so they can’t make a weapon. And then it evolved into which role each prisoner would have during male-on-male prison sex.’
Lemon went on to explain black people should stop using the N-word, and refrain from littering.