Not everyone was stunned by Don Lemon's sudden firing from CNN — especially those
who've previously worked with him. Here's why Lemon's long
history of troubling behavior may have finally forced CNN to send him packing.
According to some recent reporting, Don Lemon's departure from CNN has been a
long time coming. The last straw may have been a comment the newsman made
about presidential candidate Nikki Haley that was widely perceived as sexist.
"Politicians or something and not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn't in her prime."
It's only the latest controversy for the anchor. A recent bombshell report from Variety detailed
Lemon's long history of temperamental, even childish behavior, going as far back
as 2008 — only two years into his long tenure at CNN. As former CNN consultant Goldie Taylor said,
"I'm never surprised when Don gets in trouble."
According to Variety's report, Don Lemon's cruel and unprofessional
behavior in 2008 made life tense for many on the Atlanta-based CNN crew. One example
given was Lemon's reported treatment of his former Live From co-anchor, Kyra Phillips,
In one instance, when Phillips was given an assignment in Iraq that Lemon reportedly wanted,
Lemon allegedly destroyed some of the notes and photos on Phillip's desk. Alarmingly, after
Phillips returned home, she started receiving anonymous text messages with warnings like:
"Now you've crossed the line, and you're going to pay for it."
An investigation by CNN then traced the threatening texts back to Lemon.
Though the results of the investigation were not disclosed, Lemon was later
taken off of the "Live From" show and given a different assignment.
Prior to CNN This Morning, which he co-anchored with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins,
Live From was the last time Lemon had a female co-anchor. For his part,
Lemon denies the incident with Phillips ever took place.
But the incident with Kyra Phillips wasn't the start of Don Lemon's shady behavior. Apparently,
the newsman has a history of questionable conduct, including insulting his coworkers
and having an affair with a junior staffer. According to Variety's report,
the former anchor also ignored rules, missed meetings, showed up late,
and often seemed threatened by others' success — especially if they were women.
According to a witness in the Variety piece, one of the first shocking incidents involving
Lemon occurred when he mimicked the former CNN anchor Nancy Grace. The incident happened while
Lemon was on the air. Grace didn't respond for comment, but a source close to her told Variety,
"She thinks [Lemon was] rude, dismissive,
and really unfamiliar with the [news] content being discussed."
During a conference call, Lemon also reportedly suggested that
the Afro-Cuban anchor Soledad O'Brien wasn't Black, according to Variety.
"My mom is black, my dad is white. My mom's Cuban, my dad is Australian."
Lemon made the comment after O'Brien got a job hosting the CNN series Black in America,
which was a job that Lemon was said to have wanted. Though O'Brien wasn't
in the room when it happened, she told Variety,
"Don has long had a habit of saying idiotic and inaccurate things,
so it sounds pretty on brand for him."
Needless to say, it seems that Don Lemon's history of problematic behavior at CNN has
finally caught up with him. Though Lemon reportedly had the support of
CNN chief Chris Licht, that has clearly changed. Insiders told The New York Times
that it was increasingly difficult to keep Lemon in the anchor's chair, seeing as some
guests didn't want to appear with him. His popularity among viewers had also decreased.
However, Lemon's reading of the event was somewhat more contentious. Shortly after
being notified that he was fired, Lemon tweeted:
"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 that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly."
However, CNN's Communications team called Lemon's
statement "inaccurate". The network wrote on Twitter:
"[Don Lemon] was offered an opportunity to
meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter."
Strangely enough, Lemon's firing happened to occur on the same day that Tucker Carlson was
ousted from Fox News. While referencing the odd coincidence of two cable news
stars being fired on the same day, former CNN host Brian Stelter tweeted:
"To be clear: Fox News did not know that CNN was terminating Don Lemon today and CNN did
not know that Fox was ousting Tucker Carlson. This was a complete and crazy coincidence."