Controversy is nothing new to Don Lemon.
Prior to his shocking departure on Monday, the now-ex-CNN anchor had a history of controversy, ranging from his infamous comment that Nikki Haley was “past her prime” to a yelling match with a female co-host and accused “diva” behaviour.
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Don Lemon was let go by CNN after 17 years with the cable news network, but no official explanation has been given.
After hosting “CNN This Morning” earlier in the day, Don Lemon, however, claimed on Twitter that he had been taken by surprise by the news.
“I am stunned,” he tweeted.
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) April 24, 2023
His axing comes a little over two months after he apologized to viewers for his sexist on-air comments about Haley — a Republican presidential candidate.
Lemon sparked widespread outrage in February over his Haley remarks.
During a discussion with co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins about the ages of politicians, Lemon described the 51-year-old presidential candidate as not “in her prime.”
“A woman is considered to be in their prime in [their] 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,” he said.
After Harlow called him out over the remarks, Lemon doubled down by claiming he wasn’t stating his personal beliefs.
“That’s not according to me. It’s like, prime. If you look it up. If you Google when is a woman in her prime, it’ll say 20s, 30s and 40s,” he argued.
“I’m just saying Nikki Haley should be careful about saying that politicians are not in their prime and they need to be in their prime when they serve. Because she wouldn’t be in her prime according to, you know, Google.”
Haley — a former US Ambassador to the United Nations — quickly ripped the CNN host, accusing him of being sexist.
Lemon issued a statement that day saying he regretted his “inartful and irrelevant” comments — but stopped short of apologizing to Haley, or even mentioning her name.
He was subsequently absent from the show for several days.
