In April, Don Lemon was fired from his position as an anchor on CNN. His departure from the network came after he made false and insensitive statements about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, calling the 51-year-old “not in her prime.” Rumors of misogynist behavior abounded.
Don sat down with ABC24 Memphis to tell his side of the story. According to him, he was let go because he refused to put “liars and bigots” on his show like some CNN higher-ups, such as former CNN chief Chris Licht, wanted. Don believes he has a responsibility to tell the truth both as a journalist and as an American.
“I have a responsibility as an American — not only as a journalist — to tell the truth and abide by the promises of the Constitution,” he explained. “Because the Constitution says a more perfect union — not a perfect union. I’m not perfect. No one is.”
“We have to stand up for the truth,” Don went on to say. It is up to each one of us to “stand up for what is right” and “fulfill the promise of the Constitution.” This put him in direct opposition with Chris Licht’s policies.
“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,” Don stated.
More from LittleThings: Chris Cuomo On Accepting That He Was Fired From CNN: 'I Was Going To Kill Everybody'
Chris was fired from his position as CNN’s CEO in June. Part of the reason for his departure from the network was a piece in The Atlantic about his controversial leadership style. He apologized to staffers about his role in its creation, but the damage was already done.
To learn more about Don’s issues with Chris and how that impacted his firing, watch this video.
