CNN has terminated long-time anchor Don Lemon following multiple scandals and controversial comments, ending his 17-year stint as one of the network’s most well-known personalities.

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CNN fired longtime television personality Don Lemon on April 24, 2023, after a series of scandals and controversial comments on-air, ending his 17-year stint as one of the network’s most well-known personalities. Lemon’s career at CNN began in 2006 as a correspondent, and he eventually moved up to the primetime lineup and hosted his show, Don Lemon Tonight.

• Lemon’s Remarks on Black Culture Spark Controversy

Lemon faced criticism in 2013 for arguing that Black Americans shouldn’t use the N-word or wear baggy pants, siding with then-Fox News host Bill O’Reilly. In 2019, he was named in a lawsuit filed by a bartender who accused him of assaulting him at a bar in 2018 in Sag Harbor, New York. The suit was later dropped after the plaintiff changed his story.

• Assault Allegations Against Don Lemon

In 2022, Lemon asked CNN political commentator S.E. Cupp if she was suffering from “mommy brain” and losing their “train of thought,” which drew criticism. He then moved from primetime to CNN This Morning, a morning show co-hosted by Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, which some saw as a demotion. Lemon’s sexist comments about the gender pay gap in professional sports drew heavy criticism, and he was accused of repeatedly arguing with and screaming at co-host Collins off-air.

• Lemon Accused of Sexist Comments on the Gender Pay Gap

Another one of Lemon’s controversy came on April 19, 2023, when he got into an on-air argument with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, accusing him of “splaining” Black history—an exchange that irritated CNN executives. Lemon announced on Twitter on April 24, 2023, that he had been terminated, saying he was “stunned” by the decision and criticizing CNN’s management for not telling him directly.

• Sexual Assault Lawsuit

In August 2019, Lemon was named in a lawsuit filed by a bartender who accused the then-53-year-old of assaulting him at a bar in 2018 in Sag Harbor, New York—though the suit was later dropped after plaintiff Dustin Hice said his recollection of that night had changed since he filed the suit.

• Allegations of Clashing with Female Colleagues

In April 5, 2023, a bombshell Variety report accused Lemon of repeatedly clashing with female colleagues like Soledad O’Brien and Nancy Grace, at one point tearing up notes inside co-host Kyra Phillips’ desk when she got an assignment in Iraq instead of him and texting her, “you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it”—a CNN spokesperson told Variety Lemon denied the allegations, while Lemon’s representative said the report was “riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence.”

Lemon’s termination came just minutes after Fox News announced it was parting ways with one of its highest-rated hosts, Tucker Carlson. The move came one week after his employer settled a high-profile lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million over false voter fraud claims that were broadcast on Fox’s airwaves.

GOP leaders celebrated Lemon’s termination, including former President Donald Trump, who called Lemon “the dumbest man on television.” Congressional Republicans also criticized Lemon, with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) saying he “was actually the one past his prime.”