Don Lemon has turned lemons into lemonade – $24.5 million worth of lemonade.
Lemon, who formerly worked for CNN, reached an agreement with the cable giant after his firing in April 2023, TheWrap reported.
The amount he is paid “would be the full complete pay from his final contract which extended 3.5 years from his ousting,”TheWrap said.
Lemon announced on X, formerly Twitter, that he was fired after 17 years at CNN, People reported.
Trouble between Lemon and CNN came to a head after a statement he made on CNN This Morning, calling Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley “past her prime,” People reported.
He and co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins were discussing ageism.
“Lemon explained why he was ‘uncomfortable’ with the age discussion,” TheWrap reported.
“When a woman is considered to be in her prime — in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s,” Lemon, 57, said.
Later that year, Lemon had a “confrontational interview” with Vivek Ramaswamy, who was seeking the Republican nod for president.
The interview left “’several CNN leaders exasperated’ and contributed to the channel’s decision to let him go,” People reported.
“I have a responsibility not only as a journalist, but as an American, to tell the truth,” Lemon said at that time, People reported. “And to abide by the promises of the Constitution, because the Constitution says a more perfect union. Not a perfect union.”
“I’m not a perfect person. No one is,” Lemon added, according to People. “In order to fulfill the promise of the Constitution, we have to stand up for what is right. We have to stand up for the truth.”
Representatives for Lemon and CNN had no comment on the settlement, according to TheWrap.
Lemon is set to launch a new show — “The Don Lemon Show” — on Elon Musk’s X platform.
“The new program, will allow him to be ‘bigger, bolder, freer,’ Lemon he said in a posting,” as TheWrap reported.
The show “will be available to everyone, easily, whenever and wherever you want it, streaming on the platforms where conversations are happening … This is just the beginning so stay tuned.”
