Don Lemon fired by CNN after 17 years

CNN fired anchor Don Lemon on Monday after 17 years at the network, in the wake of sexist comments and reports that he mistreated women he worked with during his tenure there.

Lemon, who hosted “CNN This Morning,” said his agent informed him about his termination Monday morning. The announcement came an hour after Fox News said that right-wing primetime host Tucker Carlson is leaving the cable network immediately.

“I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly,” Lemon said in a Twitter post Monday. “At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at this network.”

Lemon added that “it is clear that there are some larger issues at play,” without offering more details.

CNN later Monday disputed Lemon’s account of his departure. The network called Lemon’s comments “inaccurate,” saying he was “offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”

Shortly after Lemon first tweeted that he was fired, the network’s CEO Chris Licht said the anchor and CNN “parted ways.”

“Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years,” the network said in a statement. “We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”

CNN added that the morning show Lemon hosted would continue to run. The program has been on air for nearly six months, and the network said it is “committed to its success.”

The announcement comes after Variety published a lengthy story alleging Lemon’s history of threatening and making offensive remarks to female staffers at CNN.

The report says that, among other incidents, Lemon got angry when he was passed over for a reporting assignment in favor of former CNN correspondent Kyra Phillips in 2008. Lemon had been anchoring CNN’s “Live From” program at the time.

Phillips received two threatening texts from an unknown sender, and CNN leadership eventually traced them back to Lemon, according to Variety.

Lemon also came under fire in February after his remarks about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley shortly after she announced a bid for the White House.

“Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,” Lemon said on the air of the 51-year-old Haley.

He has since apologized for his remarks about Haley. Licht also announced in late February that Lemon would undergo formal training following the sexist comments.