April 25, (BBC/GNA) – CNN anchor Don Lemon has hit out at the network after his firing, which came after accusations of misogyny and misbehaviour.
“I am stunned,” Lemon wrote on Twitter, saying he was told by his agent he had been let go.
CNN said it “parted ways” with Lemon, who co-hosted its morning show, saying “we wish him well”.
It follows on-air remarks by Lemon in which he said Republican Nikki Haley, 51, was not “in her prime”.
The dismissal also comes on the heels of another major US media departure. Just moments before Lemon’s announcement, Fox News announced it was parting ways with primetime host Tucker Carlson.
A long-time fixture of the network, Lemon was most recently a co-host of CNN’s This Morning programme.
But he landed in hot water earlier this year after comments he made about Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, a former UN ambassador and governor of South Carolina.
Ms Haley was not “in her prime”, Lemon said in February, a remark widely decried as sexist.
“When a woman is considered to be in her prime – in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s,” he said.
“I’m just saying what the facts are – Google it,” he added, in response to objections from his female co-hosts, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.
Lemon issued a statement on the same day saying he regretted his “inartful and irrelevant” comments. He also apologised to the newsroom and agreed to partake in “mandatory training” to address the incident.
But the remarks sparked widespread criticism, including from actress Michelle Yeoh, 60, who appeared to reference the comments in her Oscar’s acceptance speech last month, saying: “Ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you’re ever past your prime.”
In a tweet on Monday, Ms Haley appeared to address the firing, calling it a “great day for women everywhere” adding “#StillInMyPrime”.
GNA/Credit: BBC