Two of the largest American television stations – CNN and Fox News – are parting ways with two of the most popular presenters in the United States. Don Lemon will no longer host CNN, and Tucker Carlson is leaving the Fox News screen.
Lemon broke the news himself on Twitter, according to the post, where he was told by his agent that he was being fired from CNN after 17 years on the network. He shares his disappointment that he was not personally notified of this and that he was in no way even hinted that it was coming.
“After 17 years at CNN, I would have thought someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly,” Lemon wrote. He nevertheless thanked his colleagues, whom he called “the most talented journalists”, for their joint work.
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) April 24, 2023
“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 support him in his future endeavors,” said a statement on Twitter on the media’s official account.
The news comes after Variety published a story earlier this month about allegations that Lemon abused female colleagues during his career there. Earlier this year, he faced backlash for widely criticized comments he made on air.
In February on “CNN This Morning,” Lemon noted that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, 51, was no longer in her “prime.” His comments came during a debate over a proposal by Haley to require applicants over the age of 75 to undergo mental competency tests. According to Lemon, the heyday for women was between the ages of 20 and 40.
As for Tucker Carlson, the news was announced in a brief statement by Fox News, indicating that they had agreed to part ways without giving further details.
“We thank him for his service,” Fox said, noting that Carlson’s last broadcast was on Friday. It will be led on a rotating basis by his colleagues until a permanent presenter is found.
The news comes a week after it emerged that the US broadcaster will pay voting machine maker Dominion $787.5m in a defamation suit.
The Washington Post notes that the sum amounts to nearly a fifth of parent company Fox Corp’s cash on hand, a significant blow to its finances, although it is unclear whether the insurance will cover some of Fox’s liability. .
The lawsuit was filed by voting machine and software maker Dominion over allegations it helped rig the 2020 presidential election.
The out-of-court settlement agreement followed a grudging admission by Fox News that they were wrong to repeatedly broadcast false statements that supported President Donald Trump’s also-false claims of election fraud after the 2020 election.
Fox News hosts and guests have repeatedly portrayed Dominion as a major participant in a vote-switching conspiracy to give Joe Biden the election victory, the Washington Post also recalled.
Carlson’s name was mentioned during the pre-trial proceedings, with him allegedly calling Trump a “demonic force” whom he hated “passionately”.
2023-04-24 17:16:30
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