Don Lemon, life after CNN and what it says about cancel culture

Don Lemon lost his job at CNN ... or did he?

"I didn't lose my job," the 58-year-old says over a recent Zoom call from Chicago. "My job lost me."

OK – but he was indeed fired amid a controversy he recounts in his latest book, "I Once Was Lost," out this week.

Last year, in an attempt to call out Nikki Haley for age bias against President Joe Biden, Lemon said that Haley wasn't "in her prime." Here's precisely what he said: "She says people, politicians are not in their prime. 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.

He "thought I was standing up for old people and ageism," he says now, "by pointing out something hypocritical that she was doing the way that society has treated women for over the decades and millennia."

That's not how it came out. "To have people think that somehow I'm some sexist or misogynist or whatever, was just very hurtful, and is very hurtful to me."

Now Lemon is back working as a reporter, albeit on digital platform "The Don Lemon Show," and not on traditional television like he was on for decades at CNN. He's proof that perhaps there's a world beyond "cancel culture" – depending the nature of your transgression – if you're willing to be relegated to a smaller platform.

"You can always reinvent yourself," he says. "That's really the beauty of America, and as long as you just not hang on to the past, or not hang on to whatever mistake you feel that you've made, or even whether you think it's whatever happened to you is warranted or not, that there's always room for reinvention, and there's always room for reciprocity."

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Don Lemon wishes he 'had the opportunity' to defend himself more

Social media's rise and a constantly changing barometer for acceptable, appropriate behavior and language has inspired more "canceling" than ever before. Lemon's "prime" comments snowballed quickly.

"People can use things as a predicate for wanting to make changes in organizations," he says of that time. "Looking back, when you're in the middle of it, it's like a storm, and you're like, 'oh my gosh, oh my gosh.' You don't think as clearly as you would. But I wish that I would have had the opportunity to be able to defend myself a bit more. But quite frankly, contractually, I couldn't. And I hope people understand that."

He defended himself further, now. "I would sit in meetings, at work or in other places, with men, and they would do whatever. And then, before the meeting would end, I'd always say, 'OK, ladies, would you like to say something?' And inevitably, they would all have something to say, because the men were dominating the meetings. Or, if there was a new person at the network who was a woman, I would say, 'OK, let's bring her on the show.'" A scathing report from Variety alleged past offensive comments from Lemon at CNN to female colleagues; he's made eyebrow-raising comments on air.

A representative for Lemon told USA TODAY last year that report was "riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence," and was "entirely based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip. It’s amazing and disappointing that Variety would be so reckless."

Regarding him being painted as a misogynist, Lemon says: "I think that was one of the most hurtful things, quite frankly, that's ever happened to me, because it's the exact opposite of who I am, and for people to use that and for that to be the narrative, was very hurtful to me."

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Don Lemon discusses Elon Musk's X platform

Lemon spoke to Elon Musk earlier this year as Lemon launched his own media company and partnered with X. He has since sued Musk following a cancelation of that partnership deal post-interview, which grew tense.

He calls the platform a far-right and conspiracy theorist cesspool.

"It's really sad, because it is a great tool, and that platform has the potential to do some real good in the world, and unfortunately, that's not happening right now," he says.

In order to reinvent himself and claw out of a metaphorical hole in the ground, he'll need followers to take a leap of faith if they're willing to forgive his past or what they think they know about him. It may not be that simple for many, but that's what humans are "supposed to be about," he says: "reinvention" and "reciprocity."

"And as long as you live up to those ideals," he says, "even if people don't want it to happen or don't believe you, it's really all on you."