CNN’s determination to half methods with longtime anchor Don Lemon didn’t precisely shock media-watchers, but it surely did blindside Al Sharpton.
The civil-rights activist and MSNBC host known as for CNN to offer solutions on the choice introduced Monday to launch Mr. Lemon after 17 years with the community, calling him a “superb journalist” and “invaluable” voice.
“We are completely stunned at the termination of Don Lemon,” stated Mr. Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, in a joint assertion Wednesday with Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League.
“Throughout his career, Don has been a superb journalist who was very open to the civil rights community on issues others wouldn’t touch,” they stated. “Don’s voice has been invaluable to the conversation of how we become a more just nation. With the health of our democracy undergoing perhaps its greatest test, we cannot afford to silence his voice.”
They cited a Monday tweet by Mr. Lemon, who’s Black, accusing CNN of notifying him via his agent and saying it was “clear that there are some larger issues at play.”
“We would like to know what he alludes to when he said there are greater things at play, which is why we urge for a full explanation as to why he was let go in such a fashion,” stated Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Morial.
Other distinguished Black figures have additionally raised questions on Mr. Lemon’s departure, which got here days after a testy trade with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy about Black Americans and Second Amendment historical past.
After Mr. Ramaswamy stated the National Rifle Association fought for Black gun possession, Mr. Lemon stated it was “insulting” to have the visitor “sitting here, whatever ethnicity you are, ‘splaining to me what it’s like to be Black in America.”
Sports journalist Jemele Hill posted a clip of the trade and tweeted: “So Don Lemon got fired for … doing his job?”
If Don lemon bought fired from CNN for telling a conservative (accurately) that Black people nonetheless needed to (and are having to) battle for freedom after the civil battle, then 1. I’m pleased with Don for calling bullshit bullshit 2. CNN must be known as to the ground. https://t.co/eiPvRvbUwq
— C.J. Lawrence (@CJLawrenceEsq) April 24, 2023
His days at CNN seem to have been numbered after he was demoted final 12 months from internet hosting his personal primetime present to co-anchoring the revamped morning present, adjustments made beneath new management following the Warner Bros.-Discovery merger.
Mr. Lemon went lacking briefly from the air in February after saying that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not “in her prime,” prompting pushback from co-anchor Poppy Harlow. He later stated he regretted his “inartful and irrelevant” feedback.
An April 5 report in Variety headlined “Don Lemon’s Misogyny at CNN Exposed” that stated he “flouted rules and cozied up to power all while displaying open hostility to many female co-workers.”
A Lemon spokesperson dismissed the article, which referred to interviews with greater than a dozen former and present colleagues, as “unsubstantiated” and “anonymous gossip.”
CNN stated it was “unable to corroborate the alleged accounts,” in keeping with Entertainment Tonight.
Mr. Lemon blasted CNN in his Monday tweet, saying “I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly” about his termination.
That declare was disputed by CNN.
“Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate,” the community stated. “He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
CNN has not commented publicly on Mr. Sharpton’s assertion.
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