The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2022–2024
CNN fired its morning co-anchor, then cancelled the show within a year
A sexist on-air remark ended a 17-year anchor's run; the morning show CNN had rebuilt around him was cancelled eleven months later.
CNN · 2023-04-24
What happened
In February 2023 Don Lemon, co-anchor of CNN This Morning, said on air that Nikki Haley — then 51 and running for president — was 'not in her prime', adding that a woman is 'considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s'. The remarks drew immediate criticism; CNN chief executive Chris Licht called them 'unacceptable', and Lemon apologised and was set to take formal training.
Two months later, on 24 April 2023, CNN announced his exit. Licht's statement read: 'CNN and Don have parted ways. Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.'
The show he had co-anchored since its November 2022 launch did not survive long without him. In February 2024 CNN's new chief executive cancelled CNN This Morning, telling staff the network would 'no longer produce any dayside programming out of New York'; the final episode aired on 23 February 2024.
Why it happened
- One live remark became a liability the network priced in two months: after the 'unacceptable' memo and formal training came a parting statement that named no reason at all.
- The morning show was already struggling: launched with three anchors in November 2022, it faced advertiser and guest resistance, and the anchor's controversy gave the network a clean break.
- The cost arrived after the firing: the show was cancelled within a year, and the chief executive who announced the parting was replaced two months later — the decision saved nothing.
The lesson
A network that cancels the person before the problem still owns the problem: CNN fired its anchor, kept the struggling show, and cancelled it eleven months later.
Aftermath
CNN This Morning aired its final episode on 23 February 2024, after new chief executive Mark Thompson announced on 5 February that CNN would 'no longer produce any dayside programming out of New York'. Licht, who had announced Lemon's exit, left CNN in June 2023.
Sources
- CNN fires Don Lemon — CNN, 24 April 2023
- Don Lemon fired by CNN — Los Angeles Times, 24 April 2023
- CNN This Morning (2022) — Wikipedia
- Chris Licht — Wikipedia
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