Don Lemon Finally Shared the Real Reason He Believes He Was Fired From CNN

Back in April, Don Lemon's controversial firing from CNN was almost overshadowed by another TV-news shakeup. He was canned on the same day that Tucker Carlson was let go at Fox News.

But while Carlson's firing was tied to some major legal troubles Fox was facing, Lemon's seemed like a heavy price to pay for some minor missteps, including an on-air unforced error in which he made sexist comments about presidential candidate Nikki Haley and what was described as some diva-like behavior.

Nevertheless, Don Lemon is trending once again on news that he's back out in public and commenting to the media for the first time about his firing. While in Memphis for an NAACP event, Lemon told local ABC24 that he's not worried about his future and plans to continue speaking his truth.

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After news that CNN's latest CEO and chairman Chris Licht also got dumped, Lemon had strong words about the network's recent practices under that leadership. "I don't believe in platforming liars and bigots, insurrectionists and election deniers and putting them on the same footing as people who are telling the truth; people who are fighting for what's right, people who are abiding by the Constitution," Lemon told ABC24. "I think that would be a dereliction of journalistic duty to do those sorts of things."

In a 2020 interview with LEVEL, Lemon spoke about the potential danger of his being the target of then-President Donald Trump’s vitriol. “I don’t really like to talk about that, but that is a real fear and a real issue,” Lemon said. “Journalists are under attack… with the president calling us the enemy of the people and inciting his supporters to say bad things about us and feel a certain way about us… I am concerned and I take precautions.”

At the time, Lemon also said he had “the most editorial freedom of anyone in the network.” Perhaps that changed at some point leading up to his firing.

Lemon told ABC24 that he doesn't have plans to rush into a new job and is figuring out his next move slowly. "I'm not worried about it at all," he said. “People are more worried about me than I am about myself. I am fine."