Don Lemon Signs $24.5 Million Deal to Split From CNN After He Was Fired From Network

Don Lemon is officially separating from CNN for good after the network ousted him last year.

According to The Wrap, the former prime time host agreed to a separation deal of approximately $24.5 million, which would be the complete payment from his final contract.

As OK! previously reported, Lemon, 57, who hosted the morning show alongside Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow, made headlines when he called Nikki Haley past "her prime" on television, sparking backlash from others, including his coworkers.

After being taken off the air, the network let him go.

"Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors," they said in a statement at the time.

However, Lemon thought there were bigger issues at play.

“I have a responsibility as an American — not only as a journalist — to tell the truth and abide by the promises of the Constitution,” Lemon previously told ABC24 Memphis. “Because the Constitution says a more perfect union — not a perfect union. I’m not perfect. No one is.”

“I don’t believe in platforming liars and bigots, insurrectionists and election deniers and putting them on the same footing as people who are telling the truth; people who are fighting for what’s right, people who are abiding by the Constitution," he continued, alluding to how ex-CEO Chris Licht wanted more conservative figures on air.

Now, Lemon is onto bigger and better things, as he starting his own program, The Don Lemon Show on X.

“I am used to being in a studio system where you have producers [to] take care of you,” Lemon explained of the move. “Now I am the owner. I am the entrepreneur. I have to do payroll. Who is going to do my graphics? I have to hire a writer. I have to hire the producer. I have to do all these things.”

Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!

“It’s a lot of work, so I really enjoy doing it — but it is a little bit unnerving because it is new, but exciting,” he added. “I am going to be the same — but more. Just wait, I don’t have to worry about getting in trouble. Freedom it’s the best feeling, freedom.”