CNN announced on March 23rd their decision to dismiss Don Lemon due to his offensive and derogatory remarks towards women. This decision follows on the heels of Fox News news anchor Tucker Carlson being fired due to a history of misogynist behaviour.
Lemon was one of the network’s most recognizable faces, yet he recently found himself embroiled in controversy for making comments that suggested Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley isn’t at her “prime.” Additionally, Lemon engaged in a screaming match with female co-hosts and displayed apparent “diva” behavior.
Born on March 1, 1966 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Don Lemon, born March 1st 1966 in Baton Rouge Louisiana is an American journalist and television news anchor for CNN. A proud Pisces himself, Don has held various roles during his career including news reporting.
Don Lemon Net Worth is an openly gay Black man from Baton Rouge and Port Allen who was raised with his mother and grandmother. Additionally, he wrote Transparent which addresses both his childhood sexual abuse as well as his sexual orientation as an adult.
As a journalist, he graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism from Brooklyn College in 1996 and has worked at numerous local and regional news stations across the U.S.
Lemon has received several prestigious awards for his work, such as an Edward R. Murrow award for covering the capture of Washington, D.C. snipers, as well as an Emmy award for a special report on real estate in Chicagoland. Ebony Magazine even recognized Lemon with one of their Power 150 accolades! He has covered an array of subjects during his long and distinguished career.
Education
Don Lemon, an award-winning American journalist best known for his outspoken views on cable news and African-American culture, serves as news anchor at CNN. He is often seen sharing his opinions via social media outlets like Twitter or his personal blog.
Born March 1st 1966, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He attended Baker High School before going on to study journalism at Brooklyn College in New York.
After graduating, he worked as a reporter and news anchor for multiple stations including WBRC in Birmingham, Alabama; WCAU in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; KTVI in St Louis Missouri and NBC Chicago Illinois.
According to a new report published in Variety, Lemon’s workplace misogyny dates back decades before his inappropriate on-air comments began. He regularly threatened and demeaned female coworkers such as Soledad O’Brien, Kyra Phillips, and Nancy Grace – even decades before making sexual remarks during interviews on TV shows like his.
He was also charged with texting Jussie Smollett a warning that police doubted his claim of having been assaulted by MAGA supporters and later charged with five counts of false reporting a hate crime.
Personal life
Don Lemon, best known for hosting CNN’s “Don Lemon Tonight,” served as an anchor of CNN’s breaking news coverage of national and international events such as Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, Osama Bin Laden’s death, and Joplin tornado.
Lemon has had a lengthy and successful journalism career. However, in 2008 he made controversial comments that suggested his former co-host Grace O’Brien wasn’t Black enough. This caused some outrage among viewers of his show at that time.
His behavior caused outrage among some of his colleagues and resulted in several occasions when he had to be taken off air for inappropriate on-air conduct – including making numerous sexist comments about presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
As soon as he heard of the controversy surrounding him and apologized to his newsroom colleagues, he agreed to formal training programs designed to address his on-air behavior; but, ultimately, this resulted in him losing his position at CNN.
Career
Lemon was one of CNN’s most renowned personalities during his eight-year prime-time anchor stint, drawing national audiences with his fiery political commentary that earned him national renown despite some colleagues questioning his journalistic ethics.
He provided CNN coverage of the space shuttle Columbia disaster and SARS outbreak in Canada as well as numerous other breaking news events such as Arab Spring protests, Osama Bin Laden’s death and Joplin tornado.
Lemon’s public persona belies his history of offensive comments and threats directed toward female staffers. A Variety report included interviews from former and current female colleagues of Lemon who discussed his behavior anonymously.
He caused outrage after making remarks interpreted as sexist about women and aging that led co-anchors Erin Harlow and Leslie Collins to leave the set, prompting CNN chair Chris Licht to call for his removal.