CNN Paid Don Lemon $24.5 Million Following Separation
Since Don Lemon was ousted from CNN nearly one year ago, he and the network have reportedly reached an agreement.
Lemon’s separation deal will pay him roughly $24.5 million, which included the backpay he would’ve received had his contract ended on its original terms after another 3.5 years.
After 17 years, the 57-year-old anchor was fired and announced the termination on Twitter in April 2023.
“I was informed this morning by my agent I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned,” Lemon wrote. “After 17 years at CNN, I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly. 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.”
Not long after, CNN issued a statement accusing Lemon of misrepresenting what took place.
“Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate,” CNN Communications tweeted. “He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.” The exit came just a few months after Lemon stepped down from CNN This Morning.
He first received backlash in February 2023 after stating Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was “past her prime.” Lemon apologized by tweeting, “The reference I made to a woman’s ‘prime’ this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it. A woman’s age doesn’t define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day.”
He was back on air in under one week and agreed to undergo “formal training.”
Two months later, he got into a confrontation with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, which allegedly left “several CNN leaders exasperated” and then, Lemon was let go.
In July of last year, he broke his silence on the matter. “I have a responsibility not only as a journalist, but as an American, to tell the truth,” Lemon said. “I’m not a perfect person. No one is. In order to fulfill the promise of the Constitution, we have to stand up for what is right. We have to stand up for the truth.”
He is set to host his own newscast, The Don Lemon Show, on Twitter/X. It premieres on Mar. 11.
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