Fired anchor Don Lemon is spotted browsing in Apple store for the first time after being sacked
Former CNN host Don Lemon was spotted at the Apple Store in New York City for hours on Monday after being fired from the network following his disastrous run as a morning show host.
Lemon, 57, was spotted with his partner Tim Malone looking at iPhones in the store.
The newscaster tried to minimize attention by hiding his face behind dark sunglasses and a black baseball cap.
His resignation from the network comes just over two months after he apologized for on-air comments about Republican presidential nominee Nikki Haley reaching her prime. The move quickly turned nasty.
While CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht announced, after Lemon co-hosted the show earlier in the day, that they had “parted ways,” Lemon characterized it as a layoff, saying it came as a surprise to him.
Former CNN host Don Lemon was seen with his partner at an Apple Store in New York hours after being sacked from his position as morning show host
The newscaster tried to minimize attention by hiding his face behind dark sunglasses and a black baseball cap
Lemon and his partner Tim Malone were spotted looking at iPhones in the store.
His partner, Tim Malone, right, seemed glued to his phone during the pair’s time at the Apple Store
“After 17 years at CNN, I would have thought someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly,” said Lemon. CNN said Lemon got a chance to meet with management, but instead posted a statement on Twitter.
CNN offered no public explanation for Lemon’s firing.
During a February discussion on CNN This Morning with co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins about the age of politicians, he said 51-year-old Haley was not “in her prime.” A woman, he said, was considered to be in her prime “in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s.”
Harlow challenged Lemon, trying to clarify what he was referring to: “I think we should qualify. Are you talking prime about having kids or are you talking prime about being president?’
“Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just stating the facts,” Lemon replied.
At one point you could see Lemon pointing at something while waiting for service
At one point, Lemon could be seen holding two phones as he browsed the store
Lemon appeared to be looking at both of his phones as his partner bit his nails anxiously
An Apple Store employee, pictured in green, stopped by to assist the couple
Lemon released a statement the same day saying he regretted his “clumsy and irrelevant” comments. He was subsequently absent from the show for three days and returned the following week with a tweeted apology, but with no mention of the episode airing.
Haley, who had criticized Lemon’s comments as sexist and used the incident to raise money in February, took to Twitter Monday to call Lemon’s ouster “a great day for women everywhere,” referring to the booze sleeves reading “Past my prime? Hold my beer.’
Lemon used to host the primetime Don Lemon Tonight, but moved when the network launched CNN This Morning last November, just before the US midterm elections, as one of the first major programming moves under Light.
Don Lemon defends his claim that women over 40 are ‘past their peak’
CNN CEO Chris Licht confirmed Don Lemon’s resignation on Monday
Don Lemon tweeted his outrage that he was fired from CNN Monday afternoon
Last fall, he drew negative attention by saying the U.S. men’s soccer team should be paid more than the women’s team, saying the men were “more interesting to watch.”
Lemon also had a highly publicized on-air tiff with Collins last December when he accused her of interrupting him.
Last week, Lemon also gave a rousing on-air interview with Republican presidential nominee Vivek Ramaswamy last week where Lemon, who is black, challenged Ramaswamy’s interpretation of racial history.
It all looks bad for a morning news show, where the audience is mostly women and the hosts try to portray themselves as one big happy family.
The show has made little headway in ratings over the more popular Fox & Friends and Morning Joe on cable news competitors.
The bad vibes began costing CNN ad sales and some potential guests became reluctant to appear on CNN This Morning, said a CNN employee who was familiar with the decision to oust Lemon but was not authorized to speak publicly.
Some people close to Lemon have suggested that the morning job was essentially a demotion for him and that he received little support to succeed.
Lemon said he learned of his firing from his agent.
“I never received any indication that I wouldn’t be able to continue doing the work I loved at the network,” he said.