In one of the most jarring days in cable news history, CNN host Don Lemon was fired moments after Fox News dismissed Tucker Carlson. It has been nearly four months since that fateful day, with many happenings changing the cable news landscape. However, there’s one event in particular that Lemon enjoyed more than others.
During an interview with Kara Swisher on the Pivot podcast, Lemon shared that he has not had any contact with former CNN President and CEO Chris Licht since his June ouster.
He did note that it was clear to him that he was not going to be involved in CNN’s plans to move to a more centrist position but claimed being fired by the person who was ultimately fired proved him correct in his thinking that a shift in strategy wasn’t a winning plan.
“Yes, I do,” Lemon said after Swisher asked if he felt “vindicated” for his thinking and reasoning after Licht’s departure. “If you read the story and you speak to the people who are there, I think people get what happened. All you have to do is read The Atlantic story, read the subsequent stories that came out, and you know how it played out. They’re gone now. So do I feel vindicated in that sense? Yes, I do.”
He added that a shift to a more down-the-middle stance always felt incorrect.
“They wanted to be centrist and they wanted to move the network in a certain direction, which was kind of a bit surprising because I think the news is the news,” Lemon said. “You don’t choose the direction. It just is.”
Don Lemon told Swisher he has not watched CNN since his April 24th departure.
