Shortly after Don Lemon announced he was fired from CNN after 17 years at the network, CNN pushed back on the anchor’s claims about his termination.
On Monday, Mr Lemon shared an emotional note on social media, declaring that the firing left him “stunned”.
In response, CNN’s press team wrote on Twitter: “Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate. He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
In an earlier statement on Monday, the network announced that the two sides had “parted ways” in a brief three-line statement. “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.”
While neither statement offered an explanation for the sudden departure, it comes after Mr Lemon has been mired in a string of controversies in recent months – with accusations of making offensive on-air comments about women and of mistreating female coworkers off-camera.
In Mr Lemon’s Twitter statement, he slammed the network for failing to tell him in person and instead leaving it to his agent to deliver the news.
“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned,” he said. “After 17 years at CNN I would have thought 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.”
Mr Lemon went on to pay tribute to his colleagues at CNN who he described as the “most talented journalists in the business”.
“With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best,” he said.
The shock announcement came just hours after he co-hosted “CNN This Morning” with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins as normal on Monday morning.
However, his ouster comes at a time when the longtime anchor has faced a string of recent scandals in recent months.
Earlier this year, Mr Lemon came under fire for comments he had made on-air about presidential candidate Nikki Haley not being “in her prime” at the age of 51.
“Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry,” he said on an episode of “CNN This Morning” back in February.
“When a woman is considered to be in her prime – in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s.”
Mr Lemon faced an instant backlash over the comments and he was missing from the morning show for a few days.
Ahead of returning to the air, CNN announced that he would undergo “formal training” and he posted an apology on Twitter.
“I appreciate the opportunity to be back on CNN This Morning today,” he tweeted. “To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience — I’m sorry. I’ve heard you, I’m learning from you, and I’m committed to doing better. See you soon.”
Then, earlier this month, Mr Lemon was accused of mistreating multiple female colleagues throughout his career at CNN.
Multiple current or former employees told Variety about instances where the popular host had been inappropriate towards his female coworkers including Nancy Grace, Soledad O’Brien and Kyra Phillips, his former co-anchor on CNN’s “Live From”.
Mr Lemon’s rep responded to the report by describing it as “15-year-old anonymous gossip”, while CNN said that it had been “unable to corroborate the alleged accounts”.
Mr Lemon joined CNN back in 2006, most recently working as a co-anchor “CNN This Morning” with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins on weekday mornings.
He also hosted “Don Lemon Tonight” on weekdays at 10pm. Prior to CNN, he worked as an anchor at NBC Chicago and as a correspondent for NBC News, the “TODAY” show and “NBC Nightly News.”
His exit came the same day that Fox News made a shock announcement on Monday that it had “agreed to part ways” with Tucker Carlson.
“Mr Carlson’s last programme was Friday April 21st. Fox News Tonight will air live at 8pm starting this evening as an interim show helmed by rotating Fox News personalities until a new host is named,” the network said.
Fox News also offered no explanation for the sudden exit of one of its biggest hosts – though it came just days after the network agreed to pay $787m to Dominion Voting Systems over election lies the software company claimed were pushed on Carlson’s and other personality’s shows.
