Don Lemon, the sometimes problematic host fired 10 months ago by CNN, “has agreed to a separation deal with CNN for approximately $24.5 million, which would be the full complete pay from his final contract which extended 3.5 years from his ousting,” Emily Smith reported Monday for The Wrap, citing “sources.”
“Lemon got in the crosshairs with CNN brass when he moved from his popular primetime show to the mornings, alongside hosts Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow. He startled his female colleagues with his implication that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, at age 51, was past her prime,” Smith continued.
“The network dismissed Lemon after his show, in what he described as a termination. ‘It is clear that there are some larger issues at play,’ Lemon wrote on social media.”
Smith also wrote, “Now Lemon is preparing to launch a new show on Elon Musk’s X platform on March 11. The new program, ‘The Don Lemon Show,’ will allow him to be ‘bigger, bolder, freer,’ Lemon said in a posting.”
The show “will be available to everyone, easily, whenever and wherever you want it, streaming on the platforms where conversations are happening….This is just the beginning so stay tuned.”
An association with Musk, however, is problematic as well. “Musk, who is also chief executive of Tesla Inc., has repeatedly denounced diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in recent weeks on social media, calling them ‘literally the definition of racism,’ as Richard Clough reported Jan. 29 for Bloomberg News.
“In its latest 10-K filing released early Monday, Tesla omitted a line from a year ago that read: ‘With a majority-minority workforce, empowering our employee resource groups to take charge in driving initiatives that attract, develop and retain our passionate workforce is vital to our continued success. “
Lemon’s move to the X platform follows in the footsteps of Daily Caller co-founder Tucker Carlson, who recently launched the Tucker Carlson Network and hosted shows on X since leaving Fox News. Lemon and Carlson were both fired by their previous networks on April 24, 2023, the right-wing publication noted.
The Caller quoted one of its star personalities, Megyn Kelly, saying of Lemon, “He’s a prick and he f**king hates Republicans.”
Conservatives weren’t alone in having issues with Lemon, despite his many fans. Tracie Powell, founder of the Pivot Fund, wrote last April 27, “Don Lemon’s commentary has been a problem for years. I and other Black journalists were the canaries in the coal mine a decade ago. We called out (and wrote about) how harmful his on-air opinions — rooted in respectability politics and racist stereotypes — were to Black communities.
“When his harm was contained to Black people it did not rise to the concerns of the powers that be at CNN. Now he’s been ousted after a series of misogynistic on-air remarks and behavior that reportedly date back to at least 2008.”
Still, Lemon might find success out of the television mainstream, Brian Steinberg wrote Jan. 29 for Variety, citing others who have done so.
“Thriving without a media giant in the mix means working in alternative ways,” Steinberg told readers.
“There won’t be a massive TV company running free promos across its portfolio of outlets to spread the word about a splashy interview or hot take. Anchors may have to spend time considering private calls with subscribers, merchandise and events,” says Tim Hanlon, CEO of The Vertere Group, a media and marketing consultancy. ‘Not everybody is up to it.’
“TV’s long defense against big names going digital is that they will never get the audience sizes they did on, say, CNN or Fox News Channel. That’s probably true. Still, they can command a sliver all their own that may no longer go to the mainstream outlet for a fix. As more popular personalities migrate, those numbers just might add up.”