(ThyBlackMan.com) Don Lemon is a CNN reporter/personality that I watched for years. I remember the old days where I’d watch Don Lemon Tonight and the live tweets noted how problematic he was. Mind you, at the time he was considered to be problematic for his reporting and discussing racial issues which actually got better over time.
Don Lemon Like Icarus Flew Too Close to the Sun
It was like watching a gradual about face on how his commentary about these issues were troubling to the point he became an on-air antagonist to anything Trump did while in office. In late April 2023, he booted from CNN after 17 years for a different but still troubling reason: sexism.
According to reports, Don Lemon had said some slick sh*t about a few notable former CNN personalities such as Nancy Grace and Soledad O’Brien. He also described Republican presidential nominee hopeful and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley as being past her prime. Mind you, this was after Haley said that mandatory mental tests should be held for those running past 75-years-old. Lemon said that a woman is considered in her prime in their 20s-30s and “maybe 40s.”
That definitely ruffled a lot of feathers given the endless, tired gender commentary going on at the moment. Who knows what would’ve made this less of a problem for Don Lemon: if the Haley observation was made without the allegations or the allegations without the comments.
Fellow CNN Personality Chris Cuomo Left It All on the Dance Floor
At any rate, there was a period in the late 2010s and early 2020s—during a time of social dissent, the last years of Obama’s second term, and the end of Trump’s presidency—where his commentary made a definite turn. He seemed as though he was able to read the room, looked at how his reporting and commentary reflected that to a significant degree.
I suggest checking out his reporting from the Mike Brown and Eric Garner protests in 2014 then his coverage of the removal of Confederate monuments years later to see that change. While his comments and the allegations weren’t mentioned in CNN’s initial release about Lemon’s release. Instead, it was mentioned that it was hard to find guests for his show. News outlets also pointed to all of this in addition to sagging ratings as reasons for his release.
Lemon isn’t the only media host to throw away a career at a powerhouse. Another CNN colleague who really messed it up was Chris Cuomo. Now, his crash burn went down in two “what the actual f**k” arcs. The first started in 2021 as Cuomo, who had interviewed his brother—former NY governor Andrew Cuomo—had to distance himself from his brother’s publicized sexual misconduct allegations. This occurred in March 2021.
Roughly two months after he announced that he wouldn’t be discussing Andrew on his show, we find out that he’s been talking with his brother about the allegations. This part of the story is a little dicey since it’s what you’d expect of siblings who are on good terms. The problem is Cuomo is a member of the media and the media is going to report, speculate, and commentate on this.
It veered towards both a conflict of interest and clashed with ethics in journalism. This was an interesting situation to see unfold…then it exploded. By November 2021, we find out that not only was he giving counsel to his brother on dealing with the allegations, Chris used his access to pretty sensitive information to help the governor! CNN had to be awfully red-assed about that…if they weren’t busy with allowing act two to slide on their watch.
That’s right, this was a two act screw up as Cuomo has sexual misconduct allegations of his own! Normally, jobs have “bring your kid to work day” and not “bring your bullsh** to work day”. Then again, all of this happened at work. He was sh***ing where he ate, basically.
His run with CNN was capped off with him stating that he was close to killing everyone at CNN then himself—remember, he did all of this to himself and even had help from CNN in covering it up to a degree—as well as pushing for the rest of the money owed by CNN.
What Do You Think Is Up with News Personalities Now?
There was a time when on-air personalities just…did their jobs. Whether it was straight news on an opinion-heavy network like Shep Smith on Fox News or opinions on what is supposed to be a news-heavy network such as when early days of the personality shows in the late 90s and early 2000s. Their dirt was left in dark back then.
A situation like TJ Holmes and Amy Robach would’ve gone down without anyone leaving ABC if it was 2003 and not 2023. In 2013, it would’ve simply been a surprise Pikachu-face moment that they’d been creeping. However, by 2023, many viewers and content consumers become parasocial. They have to know every part of on-air talent or a recording artist’s life—especially their private life.
Not only that, they feel that their opinions on these folks’ private lives were asked for and are valid—in reality it’s a hard “No” on both accounts. Of course, it doesn’t help that nowadays folks have to record and snap everything they do even if they’re out dipping in other people’s pots.
The Holmes-Robach situation was a case of the romantic drama being viewed as more interesting than the content they’re paid to produce on camera.
Have news personalities gotten a little too comfortable with their multi-million dollar positions with big networks? Do networks push their talent to extremes for ratings and that talent ends up being essential thus creating an air of being bulletproof? Or do just viewers care a little too much about all of this?
Share your thoughts on this in the comments!
Staff Writer; James Swift, Jr.
Gaming since 1989 and headbanging since 1999, James enjoys comics, RPGs, wrestling, and all things old school and retro. Check out his writing here AfroGamers and The Black Rock and Heavy Metal. You can also find him on Twitter at; metalswift and soon on Kick where he will stream mobile titles.
One can also contact this brother at; JSwift@ThyBlackMan.com.