By now, you’ve all heard about Tucker Carlson’s abrupt and involuntary departure from Fox News. But you might not know that CNN’s Don Lemon was also ousted this week and on the same day.
Unlike the much more tactful Carlson, Lemon has been posting and discussing his recent firing for anyone and everyone to hear and see.
Of course, no one is really listening.
And neither does it seem that anyone at CNN will miss him, least of all his co-hosts.
On Tuesday, a full day later, his co-hosts did make sure to mention his lack of appearance on the show and “wish him all good things.” But beyond that, nothing more was said. Additionally, it didn’t seem that either Poppy Harlow or Kaitlan Collins was all too broken up about his absence. If anything, they seemed rather giddy and quick to put him and his time spent on the network behind them.
Mediate called the farewell segment, if it can be called that, “a moving tribute – fast moving.”
It lasted all of 39 seconds.
Collins and Harlow began the segment by saying that Lemon was their “friend” and that they “wish him all good things ahead.” But then they quickly said, “We want to keep… the focus on the news, where that belongs. So let’s get to it.”
And that was it.
Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins began today's CNN This Morning by addressing Don Lemon's ouster pic.twitter.com/DusMq1LUua
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 25, 2023
Seriously, if you blinked, you just might have missed it.
Also noted were the near ear-to-ear grins on each woman’s face while speaking of Lemon’s departure. Of course, no one could blame them.
If you know much about Lemon, he wasn’t easy to get along with and caused all kinds of drama, both on and off set. He wasn’t friendly with any of his co-hosts over the past two decades, especially not the women.
Some insiders noted that he treated most, including Harlow and Collins, more like “backup dancers” than equal partners. For Collins, things were even more strained, as Lemon had publicly rebuked her and criticized her skills on more than one occasion, once was even on air. No wonder no one was too eaten up about Lemon’s firing.
