Don Lemon says misogyny accusations surrounding his CNN firing were 'very hurtful'

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Ex-CNN host Don Lemon said the accusations against him that led to his firing were "very hurtful" and wished he was "able to defend [himself] a bit more."

Lemon spoke with USA Today Thursday about his new memoir and the circumstances of his firing in April 2023, a decision he claimed CNN made without telling him directly.

"I didn't lose my job," he remarked. "My job lost me."

At the time, Lemon had been at the center of multiple controversies, including a viral moment when he said then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was past her "prime" at age 51. 

He told USA Today about the chaos he felt from the backlash.

Don Lemon said he thought he was "standing up for old people and ageism" when he suggested Nikki Haley was past her "prime." (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)

"People can use things as a predicate for wanting to make changes in organizations," Lemon said. "Looking back, when you're in the middle of it, it's like a storm, and you're like, 'oh my gosh, oh my gosh.' You don't think as clearly as you would. But I wish that I would have had the opportunity to be able to defend myself a bit more. But quite frankly, contractually, I couldn't. And I hope people understand that."

He defended his comments about Haley, claiming he "thought [he] was standing up for old people and ageism…by pointing out something hypocritical that she was doing the way that society has treated women for over the decades and millennia."

"To have people think that somehow I'm some sexist or misogynist or whatever, was just very hurtful, and is very hurtful to me," Lemon said.

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Lemon was also accused of having behaved rudely towards his "CNN This Morning" co-host Kaitlan Collins. A CNN insider told Fox News Digital at the time he was being "nasty" to her for supposedly interrupting him, leaving her "visibly upset." 

A report from Variety released shortly before his firing claimed Lemon was also exhibiting misogynistic and "diva-like" behavior, going so far as to send threatening text messages to a female colleague.

Don Lemon was accused of exhibiting misogynistic behavior towards his female colleagues. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CNN)

"The story, which is riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence, is entirely based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip. It’s amazing and disappointing that Variety would be so reckless," a CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital at the time.

Lemon said the misogyny accusations from the report were also "very hurtful."

"I think that was one of the most hurtful things, quite frankly, that's ever happened to me, because it's the exact opposite of who I am, and for people to use that and for that to be the narrative, was very hurtful to me," Lemon said.

He insisted to USA Today that he has always been respectful of women, particularly at work.

He said, "I would sit in meetings, at work or in other places, with men, and they would do whatever. And then, before the meeting would end, I'd always say, 'OK, ladies, would you like to say something?' And inevitably, they would all have something to say, because the men were dominating the meetings. Or, if there was a new person at the network who was a woman, I would say, 'OK, let's bring her on the show.'"

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Lemon argued his digital program "The Don Lemon Show" proved that people can move on from their past.

Lemon was fired from CNN in April 2023. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)

"You can always reinvent yourself," Lemon said. "That's really the beauty of America, and as long as you just not hang on to the past, or not hang on to whatever mistake you feel that you've made, or even whether you think it's whatever happened to you is warranted or not, that there's always room for reinvention, and there's always room for reciprocity."

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On Wednesday, Lemon was slammed for mocking a video of Melania Trump discussing the assassination attempt on her husband.