CNN Host Don Lemon Out at Network

Facts

• On Monday, US cable news network CNN announced it had parted ways with Don Lemon after 17 years, with the former host having appeared on his show the very same morning the news was revealed.¹
• The anchor joined CNN in 2006, having previously worked for NBC Chicago and NBC News. Lemon confirmed the news via Twitter, claiming he was "stunned" and had been given "no indication" that he was not to continue his work with the station.²
• Lemon stated that he received the news via his agent and that he believed he deserved the "decency" to be informed directly. CNN responded by calling Lemon's characterization "inaccurate," and stated that he was given a chance to meet with the cable service's management.³
• CNN's press team thanked Lemon for his time on the platform and affirmed that he would "forever be a part" of the CNN family and that they would be "cheering him on" in his future. While it didn't provide a reason for the decision, the parting comes amid a series of controversies surrounding Lemon.⁴
• Earlier this month a report accused him of having poor relationships with his female colleagues, which the former CNN host denied. Lemon was also suspended from CNN's show This Morning in February after claiming that the 51-year-old GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not "in her prime."⁵
• Lemon departed CNN the same day US news network Fox also let go of Tucker Carlson.⁶

Sources: ¹PBS NewsHour, ²NBC, ³NPR Online News, ⁴Independent, ⁵Forbes, and ⁶Vox.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Los Angeles Times. Lemon had risen from simply a news correspondent into one of America's top media personalities. However, recent years have seen a series of missteps for the anchor. Questions over his relationships with female colleagues and his journalistic judgments arose amid the backdrop of broader issues for the network. Despite the controversies, Lemon never stopped showing his true self and was always quick to acknowledge any mistakes.
• Right narrative, as provided by Breitbart. The center of off-camera feuds as well as a series of concerning allegations, Lemon's departure came after a consistent period of poor viewership and a streak of controversies, but that's not what ultimately led to this decision. Lemon was simply no longer useful to the left and so the network turned on one of its own. Meanwhile, Lemon — staying true to his pattern of manipulation and deceit — went out lying.
• Narrative C, as provided by Intelligence. Monday was a day when both the right and the left could celebrate the demise of Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon, respectively. Shrilling from the opposite sides of the partisan divide, both could be misogynistic and didn't play well with others. While only not so long ago, the idea of both anchors leaving their networks seemed inconceivable, if only for a day, it seems that cable news just became a little more reasonable.