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It’s uncommon sufficient to see the downfall of 1 A-list cable information character on a given day, not to mention two—however the media world witnessed simply such a unicorn on Monday. We’d solely simply begun to digest Tucker Carlson’s jaw-dropping breakup with Fox Information when Twitter began lighting up with reactions to yet one more main departure: Don Lemon’s from CNN. “I used to be knowledgeable this morning by my agent that I've been terminated by CNN. I'm shocked,” Lemon, who co-hosts the embattled CNN This Morning, mentioned in a press release on Twitter, which you'll be able to learn in full beneath:
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The New York Instances, which had a soar on the information, pinned Lemon’s firing on the plain offender: his disparaging remarks a couple of weeks in the past relating to Nikki Haley and girls and the age at which they're “previous their prime.” The feedback thrust CNN right into a public relations disaster and made all of it the best way to the Oscars, the place Michelle Yeoh took a none-too-subtle dig at Lemon in her acceptance speech. Because the Instances reviews, “CNN’s bookers had found that some visitors didn't wish to seem on-air with Mr. Lemon, and analysis on the morning present reviewed by CNN executives discovered that his recognition with audiences had fallen.” Only a couple days in the past, the New York Submit reported that White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre agreed to look on CNN This Morning provided that Lemon was not the one to interview her. (CNN and the White Home each poured a little bit of chilly water on the report, however it will appear to trace.)
Sources who know the way issues went down informed me all of it performed out throughout the final 48 hours, which is the timeframe when Lemon’s co-hosts, Kaitlin Collins and Poppy Harlow, have been knowledgeable of the choice. Lemon was given a chance to talk with community boss Chris Licht on Monday morning however declined, my sources mentioned. (CNN’s comms staff subsequently tweeted as a lot.) The sources added that CNN needed to go public in a joint message, however Lemon preempted that together with his tweet.
Lemon—a long-serving CNN determine who broke out in a giant manner whereas internet hosting a fiery prime time present through the Trump presidency—had been moved to the breakfast shift final yr as a part of Licht’s revamped programming technique, of which the morning was a key ingredient. The present has been gradual to construct up an viewers, nonetheless, whereas additionally getting distracted by tabloid dramas, together with reviews of Lemon clashing together with his co-hosts behind the scenes.
Once I interviewed the trio final October forward of CNN This Morning’s debut, Lemon informed me, “I’m trying ahead to the non-confrontational nature of this format. … I’m simply actually trying ahead to elevating the dialog and making individuals smarter as a substitute of simply preventing.”