As far as Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon are concerned, yesterday was Black Monday. The Carlson firing was the big story, so CNN decided to squeeze the life out of Don Lemon’s career while everyone was distracted by Carlson’s sacking.
The Carlson firing was more brutal. Former CNN Reliable Sources host Brian Stetler who knows something about being fired described it as follows: “Not being given a chance to sign off is the television equivalent of an execution.”
Ouch.
Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman is one of the leading experts on all things Murdoch and Fox. The title of his post at The Hive says it all: Tucker Carlson Was Blindsided By Fox Firing.
Fox sounds like a mashup of Succession and Survivor. I used Logan Roy’s pet phrase in my Fox firing post yesterday: Fox Tells Tucker To Fuck Off.
I know what Survivor host Jeff Probst would say to Carlson:
According to Gabe Sherman, the details of Carlson’s shit canning remain obscure not only to us but to the Mothertucker himself:
“On Monday morning, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott called Carlson and informed him he was being taken off the air, and his Fox News email account was shut off. According to a source briefed on the conversation, Carlson was stunned by his sudden ouster from his 8 p.m. show, the most watched program in cable news last month. Carlson was in the midst of negotiating the renewal of his Fox News contract through 2029, the source said. As of last week, Carlson had told people he expected the contract to be renewed.
Carlson has told people he doesn’t know why he was terminated. According to the source, Scott refused to tell him how the decision was made; she only said that it was made “from above.” Carlson has told people he believes his controversial show is being taken off the air because the Murdoch children intend to sell Fox News at some point.”
It’s bound to be worse than that. I remain convinced that it has something to do with the hostile work place suit filed by former Carlson booker, Abby Grossberg. It may well be prelude to a settlement. She’s supposed to be interviewed today by Nicolle Wallace, if she’s not on, we’ll know what’s up.
Are you tuckered out? So is Clint Black:
Let’s turn to the Don Lemon sacking. He’s something of a notorious figure in New Orleans as pointed out by former Gambit editor Kevin Allman:
Don Lemon, Baton Rouge-area native and infamous Frenchmen Street New Year’s Eve drunkard and tosspot, says he’s been fired https://t.co/enAzn8qQI0
— Kevin Allman (@KevinAllman) April 24, 2023
I only watched Don Lemon’s former prime time show a few times. He’s inclined to shoot from the lip without processing. This odd tweet lamenting his fate is typical:
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) April 24, 2023
Note that Lemon still has a blue check mark; a sure sign of malakatude.
The gig he was fired from was as co-anchor of CNN This Morning. An abrasive know-it-all like Lemon is wildly out of place on a morning show. No wonder CNN soured on Lemon and vice versa.
The final straw in the Lemon-CNN relationship seems to have been a sexist comment the anchor made about Nikki Haley:
“Mr. Lemon, a CNN veteran with a history of televised gaffes, roiled colleagues on Thursday when he asserted on the air that Nikki Haley, the 51-year-old Republican presidential candidate, “isn’t in her prime, sorry.”
“A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
Lemon later apologized but the damage was done. He proved that a liberal gay black guy can be just as sexist as a right-wing straight white guy. Sad but true.
The best thing I’ve read about Lemon’s termination was also at Vanity Fair’s The Hive. What’s not to love about a piece called Inside CNN’s Defenestration Of Don Lemon?
There’s not enough meringue in the world to sweeten that headline.
Don Lemon strikes me as a grudge-holder, so the last word goes to The Bee Gees:
Or maybe Suzanne Scott just wanted to see the ultimate Tucker-is-confused-face by firing him without warning and not telling him why. It was probably amazing.