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Ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon said in an interview he felt “vindicated” by the removal of his former boss Chris Licht, who ousted Lemon from the company earlier this year.
Lemon, whose last stint at CNN was as co-anchor of “CNN This Morning,” was fired by Licht in April amid a string of on-air clashes with co-hosts Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow, and offensive, sexist comments about GOP presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley.
Licht was axed in June by CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, days after a scathing profile by The Atlantic alienated staffers and key senior figures at the network who called for the exec’s head.
“All you have to do is read The Atlantic story, read the subsequent stories that came out, and how it played out,” Lemon told Kara Swisher on her podcast this week. “They’re gone now. So do I feel vindicated in that sense? Yes, I do.”
Lemon told Swisher he was not given the chance to address the controversy surrounding the comments he made on air — that Haley 51, was not in her “prime” due to her age.
Lemon apologized on social media in February, shortly after he made the remarks on air, and also gave a hamfisted apology internally to CNN staff.
“If you’re asking, so I’m going to speak the truth now — I was never allowed to address the issue on the air,” Lemon told Swisher. “I wish that I could have, but I was never allowed to.”
The 57-year-old anchor said that since he’s left CNN, he has been traveling and spending time with friends and family. He did not provide any details on his plans for the future, but suggested he will be back in the media spotlight soon in some capacity.
“It’s going to be probably streaming and in the digital space. It doesn’t mean that I don’t want to work in traditional, linear television anymore, especially over the next 14 months,” he said. “I expect to have a voice. So stay tuned for that.”