Former CNN host Don Lemon will soon receive around $24.5 million following a deal with his ex-employer nearly a year after his departure.
Don Lemon to receive $24.5 million as part of separation deal with CNN: Report https://t.co/Bqk4LBujNu pic.twitter.com/73Bi7Rdy2G
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) February 27, 2024
The massive figure Lemon is set to obtain is what he would have earned if CNN had kept him on the staff through the three remaining years of his contract. The ex-prime time host was fired from the network in April 2023 following accusations of misogynistic behavior, among other things.
Lemon has denounced CNN, claiming he was not notified of his firing. He says his agent informed him of the dismissal.
“I am stunned after 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly,” Lemon wrote on social media shortly after his departure. “At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network. It is clear that there are some larger issues at play.”
Despite Lemon’s claims, CNN said the former host had an opportunity to speak with management but refused.
Following Lemon’s departure from the network, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that the former CNN host would be hosting an exclusive show available to users of X, formerly known as Twitter.
The show will reportedly consist of Lemon speaking for 30 minutes on three days weekly.
Lemon’s departure from CNN reportedly came days after he suggested that former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) was not “in her prime,” drawing criticism from several co-hosts at the network.
Don Lemon: "Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry, when a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, and 30s, and maybe 40s…"
Poppy Harlow: "Are you talking about prime for like child bearing?"
"Don’t shoot the messenger! I’m just saying what the facts are! Google it!" pic.twitter.com/n1HmtkWTpl
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 16, 2023
After the segment where Lemon commented on Haley, The Wrap reported that the former CNN host suggested the network was going in a direction he disliked.
“CNN, the strategy and their content and the direction they wanted to go in, I was not a part of that,” Lemon said during a conversation with journalist Kara Swisher.
“They did not want me to be a part of that, and I think that has, from what has played out publicly as it relates to CNN, as it relates to management, and what they’re doing now, I think that it’s obvious that they didn’t want me to be a part of that,” he added.
