The Rise and Fall of Don Lemon

CNN said Monday that Don Lemon had left the network soon after the star anchor tweeted about learning of his termination from his agent.

The announcement caused reverberations throughout the media world, but some observers said they saw his departure coming.

"Don Lemon has been skating on thin ice since he began his morning anchoring chores at CNN," Robert Schmuhl, a professor emeritus in American studies and journalism at the University of Notre Dame, told Newsweek in a statement. "Today the ice cracked, and the network decided to avoid future problems by letting him go."

The problems associated with Lemon include allegations of hostility toward co-workers and accusations of misogyny. While many of these claims were made behind the scenes, perhaps the most high-profile accusation of misogyny came earlier this year, when Lemon made widely condemned comments about the age of GOP presidential contender Nikki Haley.

But what some may find surprising about Lemon's downfall is just how precipitously he fell when only seven months ago he hosted a prime-time show on CNN. (Newsweek reached out for comment to a Lemon representative via email.)

In early April, Variety published a story that detailed many allegations made against Lemon that included misogynistic comments and "diva-like behavior." While the report cited anonymous sources when describing various instances of alleged tensions with co-workers and inappropriate behavior, it also covered public instances like mocking journalist Nancy Grace on the air.

Variety also reported that Lemon was allegedly upset when Soledad O'Brien was chosen to host CNN's Black in America docuseries. He reportedly suggested during a CNN editorial call that O'Brien isn't Black.

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, a representative for Lemon said the Variety story was "riddled with "patently false anecdotes" and had "no concrete evidence." While Variety's two sources who said Lemon made the remark about O'Brien were unnamed, O'Brien's response was on the record.

"Don has long had a habit of saying idiotic and inaccurate things, so it sounds pretty on brand for him," O'Brien told Variety when asked about his alleged comments.

Throughout the time frame of many of these allegations, Lemon remained a popular presence on CNN. His 10 p.m. show, Don Lemon Tonight, which aired from 2014 to 2022, once drew a large fan base who tuned in for his pointed commentary on the Trump administration.

However, views about Lemon began to change. One public black eye for CNN involved actor Jussie Smollett testifying in court in 2021 that Lemon texted him a warning that police questioned the authenticity of his story about being attacked by MAGA supporters.

When Lemon later reported on Smollett being found guilty on five of six charges relating to falsely reporting a hate crime, he failed to disclose to viewers his involvement in the case.

In September 2022, CNN CEO Chris Licht announced the network was moving Lemon to a new morning show, where he would be joined by anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins. Though Nielsen Media Research figures showed that Lemon's 10 p.m. show was the lowest-rated show in prime-time cable that August, Lemon insisted the move was not a demotion.

New allegations involving Lemon soon emerged, and numerous outlets have reported that Lemon snapped at Collins backstage this past December for interrupting him on air.

Then came his comments about Haley. In February, Lemon said on the air that the 51-year-old GOP presidential candidate "isn't in her prime, sorry."

"A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s," Lemon said while Harlow and Collins looked clearly uncomfortable.

His remarks drew a response from Haley and a rebuke from Licht. They were even mockingly referenced by Michelle Yeoh during the 60-year-old's acceptance speech for winning the Oscar for best actress.

Jill Olmsted, a journalism professor at American University, told Newsweek that she "never thought that Lemon's apology for his foot-in-mouth sexist comments about women in the workplace was sincere, and afterwards his tone and pompous body language on air with female colleagues convinced me his time had come and gone."

But it wasn't just allegations of sexism that created controversy for Lemon. Last Wednesday, he was involved in a testy exchange with Vivek Ramaswamy—another Republican presidential candidate—over Black history and gun control laws. At one point during their debate, Lemon seemingly told his producers to stop distracting him by talking to him on his earpiece.

The New York Times reported that executives at CNN were upset about the incident with Ramaswamy, and the paper also noted that the morning show's ratings had been struggling.

Schmuhl told Newsweek that the "morning slot really wasn't working very well for him," adding that Lemon's opinions and actions were becoming problematic for CNN.

"An anchor at any news organization that wants to be perceived as impartial has to be very careful delivering opinions or analytical points," Schmuhl said. "In Don Lemon's case, he flew too close to the sun too many times, with comments that left many people shaking their heads."