Megyn Kelly appeared on CNN on Monday while recording her podcast, “The Megyn Kelly Show,” to learn that Don Lemon had been fired from his hosting duties. In her response, she admitted that she was “not a Don Lemon fan at all,” but argued that if the dismissal occurred as Lemon claimed, it was a “classless” move on the part of the network and CEO Chris Leach.
“Oh my god, so now there’s breaking news from CNN,” Kelly said, still recovering from an earlier discussion about Tucker Carlson’s exit from Fox News. She joked, “Oh my god, am I still self-employed?”
Responding to Lemon’s claim that he learned about the firing over the phone through his agent rather than speaking directly to Licht and CNN upper management, he acknowledged that he was “not wrong” and that “if it was true is,” then he deserved better treatment. network.
“Everyone knows I’m not exactly a fan of Don Lemon, but he’s not wrong – if it’s true, that he was just told by his agent that he was fired, and they have him to tell man-to-man. didn’t have the balls for — he’s just classless. He has a right to complain about that,” Kelly said.
“Something must have happened here,” he continued. “Must have been something like the last straw.”
In a conversation with “The Megyn Kelly Show” executive producer Steve Krakauer, Kelly later revisited her curiosity about what might have been the final straw.
“Their ratings on that morning show are in the toilet. All day and primetime ratings and CNN are in the toilet. Their main competitor MSNBC is doubling them right now. They got nothing – absolutely nothing,” Kelly said. “And I’m sure he’s making a decent salary. But so far, he’s been untouchable. So I’d love to find out what changed, because the last straw felt pretty sudden.
Lemon tweeted early Monday that he had been fired from CNN after 17 years.
“I was notified this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN,” the “CNN This Morning” host wrote. “After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have the decency to tell me straight. At no point was there any indication to me that I would not be able to continue doing the work I love at the network.”
Anker concluded by saying that “it’s clear the game has some big issues” and thanked his teammates and the many teams for their “incredible run”.
In response, CNN released a statement saying that contrary to their claims, management did reach out to Lemon.
The network said, “Don Lemon’s statement regarding this morning’s events is incorrect.” “He was given an opportunity to meet with management, but instead issued a statement on Twitter.”
The statement followed an internal memo from Licht, which noted that “CNN This Morning,” the morning show that Lemon anchors with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlyn Collins, has been on the air for about six months and that the network “is responsible for its success.” committed to. “
CNN CEO Chris Licht said, “CNN and Dawn have parted ways.” wrote In the memorandum. “Don will always be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him well and continue to encourage him in his future endeavors.”
The dismissal comes two months after a public and internal outcry over Lemon’s claim that Republican President Nikki Haley is “not in her prime,” saying a woman “in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe 40s” Is.”
From there, Variety published a report earlier this month detailing the cable news anchor’s sprawling career, including allegations of misogyny, mocking female staffers and reckless “diva-like” behavior — an allegation that Lemon vehemently denied.
Watch the segment from Monday’s “The Megyn Kelly Show” in the video above.
Lori Seitz contributed to this story.