Don Lemon’s fiery on-air exchange with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy left CNN leaders “exasperated” ahead of his shocking ouster from the cable news network, according to a report.
Lemon got into a heated argument with Ramaswamy on the set of “CNN This Morning” last Wednesday and the televised clash reportedly played a role in his firing, the New York Times reported.
The banished CNN star’s visible irritability during the conversation Ramaswamy on the Civil Rights movement, black Americans and the Second Amendment “left several CNN leaders exasperated,” two sources told the paper.
In the footage of the interview, it appears producers were attempting to advise Lemon through the heated debate.
“Please, I cannot keep a thought if you guys are talking in my ear,” he said at one point during the segment.
Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital that he thought it was clear their on-air confrontation “played a role” in CNN’s decision to drop Lemon.
“I think that any network that wants to foster open debate should embrace that principle by not restricting what someone can say or saying what someone can say is restricted based on their skin color,” Ramaswamy told the outlet. “And I think they made the right decision here.”
Lemon, who is black, had said it was “insulting” that the GOPer was “sitting here, whatever ethnicity you are, explaining to me what it’s like to be black in America.”
The televised clash was the latest story about Lemon to make waves following a series of recent headlines about his allegedly troubling behavior.
One of his most notable missteps was his comments about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley being “past her prime” at age 51. He added that “a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s” in a statement that was called out as sexist by people on all sides.
He also spared with his female co-hosts and reportedly belittled anchor Kaitlan Collins after being forced to share the spotlight.
The controversies leading up to Don Lemon’s CNN firing
Don Lemon is no stranger to controversy.
The now ex-CNN anchor was in hot water multiple times in the lead-up to Monday’s shock firing — from his infamous Nikki Haley “past her prime” remark to a screaming match with a female co-host and alleged “diva” behavior.
CNN hasn’t provided a public explanation for Lemon’s ouster after 17 years with the cable news network. But Lemon took to Twitter to insist that he had been blindsided by the news after hosting “CNN This Morning” earlier in the day.
Below are just a few of Lemon’s recent controversies.
Beef with his co-host
In December last year, Lemon is said to have “screamed” at his co-anchor, Kaitlan Collins, after an on-air segment, sources told The Post at the time.
When the cameras stopped rolling after the Dec. 8 show, he allegedly approached Collins and unleashed on her in front of staffers for supposedly “interrupting” him on air.
“Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio,” one source said.
In the aftermath, a source said: “At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible … It’s messy.”
Soccer spat
Just weeks before his alleged screaming match, Lemon clashed with his two female co-hosts over on-air remarks he made about women’s soccer.
Lemon got into an awkward dispute with both Collins and Harlow after he suggested the US men’s soccer team should get paid more than the women’s side.
“The men’s team makes more money. If they make more money, then they should get more money,” Lemon said.
“The men’s team makes more money because people are more interested in the men.”
Diva-like behavior
A damning Variety magazine report published earlier this month alleged Lemon has a long history of sexist and “diva-like behavior.”
The report cited roughly a dozen former CNN staffers who listed several alleged instances of misogynistic behavior.
Read more of the Post’s Don Lemon coverage
Lemon slammed his abrupt firing from CNN Monday, claiming to have been blind-sighted by the decision.
“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned after 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly,” Lemon wrote in a statement on Twitter.
“At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network. It is clear that there are some larger issues at play.”
However, CNN vehemently denied that he wasn’t given notice.
“Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate,” CNN tweeted. “He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
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