How Don Lemon's CNN Co-Anchors Addressed His Exit On First Show Without Him

The morning after it was announced that Lemon had been terminated by CNN after 17 years, his now-former "CNN This Morning" co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins began Tuesday's show by addressing Lemon's departure.

"We do begin though with news about this show. As you may have heard yesterday, CNN parted ways with anchor Don Lemon," said Harlow.

She added, "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 will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.'"

Collins chimed in, saying, "Absolutely, of course, Don was a big part of the 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."

Harlow agreed, before noting that Lemon was "one of [her] first friends" at CNN. "I'm so thankful to have worked alongside him and for his support for nearly 15 years here," she said, "and I wish him all good things ahead."

Harlow then concluded, "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."

"CNN This Morning" -- co-hosted by Harlow, Collins and Lemon -- premiered in November 2022.

On Monday, Lemon broke the news of his exit himself on Twitter, making it clear this is a contentious situation by writing, "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 had the decency to tell me directly."

"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," he added. "With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business, and I wish them all the best."

The network, however, issued their own statement saying, "Don Lemon's statement about this morning's events is inaccurate. He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter."

His exit comes shortly after he made comments about Nikki Haley, 51, claiming in a discussion with his cohosts, "Nikki Haley is not in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s."

He later apologized after being put on a brief hiatus.

Ahead of the news of Lemon's exit on Monday, it was announced that FOX News host Tucker Carlson would also leave his respective network.

According to TMZ, NewsNation is potentially interested in hiring both Carlson and Lemon but at lower rates than what they were making at both FOX and CNN.