The recent removal of Don Lemon from CNN came as a shock to the cable news network’s bosses, who were reportedly “exasperated” by his violent on-air brawl with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Last Wednesday, Lemon and Ramaswamy had a fight on the set of “CNN This Morning.” The New York Times said that the on-air fight had a role in Lemon’s firing.
The former CNN star’s obvious expression of dissatisfaction during the interview with Ramaswamy “left several CNN leaders exasperated,” as two people told the publication. The conversation was about the Civil Rights movement, black Americans, and the Second Amendment.
During the course of the heated conversation, the producers appeared to be lending Lemon some assistance, as shown in the interview clip.
The main character begged, “Please, I can’t think if you guys are talking in my ear.”
Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital that it was clear that their on-air argument “played a role” in CNN’s decision to fire Lemon.
Ramaswamy reportedly told the source, “I think any network that wants to encourage open debate should support this idea by not limiting what someone can say or saying that someone’s speech is limited because of their skin color.” The decision was “the right one,” in her opinion.
In particular, Lemon found it “insulting” that the Republican was “sitting here, whatever race you are, telling me what it’s like to be black in America.”
The live battle was the latest chapter in a series of stories about Lemon, many of which revealed his reportedly troubling behavior.
The statement that 51-year-old Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was “past her prime” was one of his biggest mistakes. Many people found his sexist comments, such as “A woman is thought to be at her best in her 20s, 30s, and maybe even 40s,” insulting.
There were rumors that he was impolite to reporter Kaitlan Collins, despite the fact that he was kind to his female co-hosts.
Lemon claims that he was fired from CNN on Monday for no discernible reason.
My agency found out this morning that CNN no longer wants to hire me. After 17 years at CNN, Lemon tweeted, “I would have hoped that someone in authority would have the courtesy to notify me directly.”
No one ever gave me any reason to believe I couldn’t keep working at the network, where I’ve found so much success. There must be some other crucial element at play here.
CNN, though, has disputed flatly that they kept him in the dark.
CNN announced that Don Lemon was inaccurate after he made multiple misleading comments regarding what happened this morning. It was said of him, “He was offered a meeting with upper management, but instead he issued a statement on Twitter.”