Nikki Haley Cheers Firing of Don Lemon

Don Lemon worked at CNN for almost 20 years, but the last year was especially hard for him. The liberal host lost his coveted primetime show in 2022 and had to move to mornings. Now, he doesn’t have any show at all, and former Governor Nikki Haley (R) celebrated the news.

On April 24, Lemon posted a message on Twitter announcing he’d been fired from his job that morning.

The network released its own statement disputing the claims. In a message on Twitter, CNN Communications accused Lemon of lying. According to the post, he was asked to meet with management but “instead released a statement” on social media.

Neither CNN nor Lemon gave a reason for his termination. However, the writing seemed to be on the wall for months. He was suspended in February after making sexist comments about Haley’s presidential bid. The Hill reported he told viewers on “CNN This Morning” that the former governor wasn’t “in her prime.” He claimed a woman is only in their prime in their “20s, 30s, and maybe her 40s.”

When Haley learned about Lemon’s firing, she celebrated on Twitter.

In recent months, Lemon has faced a number of incidents. He was accused of screaming at Kaitlin Collins in December. He was reportedly angry because she’d interrupted him during the show. That argument took place days after Lemon said men’s teams are paid more than women’s because they bring in more revenue for their sports.

The New York Times reported Lemon’s recent argument with GOP presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy was also problematic. The paper reported the wild on-air exchange left network leaders upset. The Republican spoke to Fox News about the incident, saying he believed his exchange with Lemon had something to do with his termination.

It’s unclear what the next steps for Lemon are.