Don Lemon Fired by CNN, Anchor Says He’s ‘Stunned’

thewrap.com:

wrote in a memo. “Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years.

We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”Licht continued by pointing out that “CNN This Morning,” the morning show that Lemon anchored alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, has been on the air for nearly six months and the network is “committed to its success.”The news comes just over two months after Lemon made waves with a controversial comment that remarked that Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley “is not in her prime,” adding that a woman is “said to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe 40s.”The sexist remark, which reportedly made his co-anchors furious, led Licht to denounce the comments in a staff-wide meeting, saying “his remarks were upsetting, unacceptable and unfair to his co-hosts, and ultimately a huge distraction to the great work of this organization.” Lemon later apologized for the comments and was announced to resume “CNN This Morning” co-hosting duties the next week after participating in “formal training.”Earlier this month, Variety published a report that unveiled allegations from the cable news anchor’s sprawling career, including accusations of misogyny, mocking female staffers and reckless “diva-like” behavior — accusations that Lemon vehemently denied. “The story, which is riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence, is entirely based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip,” a spokesperson for Lemon told TheWrap at the time.