Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is set to make a return to the news arena, nearly a year after parting ways with his position at the esteemed cable network. The African-American host revealed that he is slated to host one of three new shows on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter.
Lemon took to his X profile to share the news with his 1.4 million followers.
“I’ve heard you… and today I am back bigger, bolder, freer!” he wrote in a graphic.
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) January 9, 2024
Adding, “My new media company’s first project is The Don Lemon Show. It will be available to everyone, easily, whenever and wherever you want it, streaming on the platforms where the conversations are happening. And you’ll find it first on X, the biggest space for free speech in the world.”
The network will feature two additional personalities with their own shows, namely former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and sports radio commentator Jim Rome.
These three new shows will be added to the existing lineup, which already includes Tucker Carlson. The former Fox host transitioned to the X platform in June 2023 after being fired by Fox on the same day Lemon was axed.
Welcome to X!@donlemon @TulsiGabbard @jimrome pic.twitter.com/WlZSV5Zymt
— Business (@XBusiness) January 9, 2024
Lemon was blindsided by CNN when they cut him loose from his morning show, “CNN This Morning,” in April 2023. Lemon co-anchored the show with now-prime time host Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow for around six months and said that his agent told him that he was fired.
“I was stunned,” he said on Twitter. Later, he was able to wrap his mind around his release.
“CNN’s … the strategy and their content and the direction that they wanted to go in, I was not a part of that. That they did not want me a part of that,” he continued. “It’s obvious that they did not want me to be a part of that. That’s the real issue that happened.”
Months later In his first interview after being ousted, Lemon said he felt “vindicated” by the firing of his former boss Chris Licht.
His new home, X, thinks he is a perfect fit and will give him free rein to do what he wants. He contends that his new show will afford him a platform to be raw and uncensored.
“I know now more than ever that we need a place for honest debate and discussion without the hall monitors,” Lemon wrote, before saying, “This is just the beginning so stay tuned.”
X released a statement about their new direction, saying they plan to “revolutionize 2024” by bringing on these new shows, investing in creators and content partnerships.
The platform boasts that in December 2023 alone, viewers watched 130 years’ worth of videos 30 minutes or longer. It plans to also create more original content and search for talent that features “the most interesting and engaged people on X.”
Details of when Lemon’s show is to start have not been released.
