Just one day after the network severed ties with former prime time anchor Don Lemon, his now ex-cohosts on “CNN This Morning” spent less than one minute saying farewell to their recently-departed colleague.
Cohosts Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow addressed Lemon’s termination at the top of Tuesday morning’s broadcast — just 24 hours after he had shared the desk with them for the final time — and the only fitting word to describe their send-off was “brief.”
WATCH:
Here is how @CNNThisMorning handled the news of Don Lemon's termination. "We wish him the best." We are "really proud of this show." Then on to the news. pic.twitter.com/8u7bY7BUEe
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 25, 2023
Harlow jumped into their farewell segment within seconds of opening the show — and less than a full minute later, it was all over.
“Well, good morning, everyone. It is Tuesday, April 25th. Welcome to ‘CNN This Morning.’ We’re so glad you’re with us. We do begin, though, with news about this show,” Harlow began. “As you may have heard yesterday, CNN parted ways with anchor Don Lemon. In a statement, CNN CEO Chris Licht thanked Don for his contributions over the past 17 years, writing in part, ‘Don will forever be a part of the CNN family. We wish him well and we’ll be cheering him on in his future endeavors.'”
“Absolutely. Of course, Don was a big part of this show over the last six months. He was one of the first anchors on CNN to have me on his show. That’s something I’ll obviously never forget. I agree with Chris. We wish him the best,” Collins agreed.
Harlow went on to add that Lemon had been one of her “first friends” at the network when she first started at CNN — and then after saying again that she wished him well, she pivoted back to the show moving on without him.
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“Kaitlan and I are really proud of this show. We are so proud of the dedicated team that works around the clock to bring you the news every morning. And our priority is you, the viewer. We’re grateful you welcome us into your home each morning,” she said.
“Absolutely. And of course, this morning we want to keep it within the focus on the news, where that belongs,” Collins delivered the segue. “So let’s get to it. ‘CNN This Morning’ starts right now.”
Lemon’s exit came after a series of missteps and rumors that he and his new morning show colleagues were not getting along.