Don Lemon Nearly Breaks Down Crying On-Air Over Zucker Resignation

Jeff Zucker was the venomous boss behind all of CNN’s toxic content poisoning American discourse but he was also everything to primetime host Don Lemon. He made that perfectly clear during Friday’s Don’t forget Lemon tonightWhen he felt so overwhelmed by emotion, he nearly wept live.

“A lot of folks have been watching wondering what’s happening. “ICNN has had a difficult few days. Today was a very tough day.. It was all week. I didn’t want to talk about it until tonight,” he announced at the top of his first hour.

Everyone at CNN was “We are devastated by the loss of our leader,” Lemon said. And according to his whining, “This was our loss of the man who was the core, the glue and the heartbeat of the company. This is the man that I credit for my transformation. The man who believed in me even when no one else would.”

Lemon also credited Zucker with catapulting his career, saying, “He is the reason that you have a gay black man with two hours of primetime. My name is on the show. Only cable news anchor who is of color during primetime. You should think about this. Are you ready to speak about diversity? Here it is.”

Then there was Lemon’s embarrassing attempt to rally the troops by suggesting they were going to continue to stick to the “mission” “to deliver the fact, to deliver the news” “no matter what it is without fear or favor”:

This week has been difficult for me and many others at CNN. There are 3,000 colleagues. But there is more than 3,000. Let me say these words to my younger colleagues, who might not be here as long as mine and have not weathered the storms.

Since 1996, I have been with this network almost sixteen years. There have been ups and downs. Ratings highs and lows. We’ve seen it all. Regime change. Through it all, we’ve seen a lot. Through it all, our mission has not changed. We deliver the news and the facts.That is what Ted Turner switched the lights on. Through two wars in the gulf, Katrina and 9/11, it was what we did.

“While Jeff Zucker might not have created this network, he did revive it and make it useful again. It was his steady hand that kept it going for the past ten years. We were left with an excellent blueprint for the future.,” he reassured them.

Ironically, CNN has seen their ratings plummet under Zucker; their credibility has also been damaged by the extremist bent evident to all honest observers and their complete disregard for journalistic ethics.

Lemon’s remarks were wrapping up, and Lemon began to feel emotion. One might think that Zucker was suffering a worse fate than being made to resign.

We are grateful to Jeff Zucker for all that you have done for this network, and the whole country.

Let’s move on.

All of you, good evening. Don Lemon is my name and CNN is my company.

CNN has this.

Fidelity sponsorships made it possible for Don Lemon to admire and nearly cry over a man who was poisoning American discourse. You can find their contact information here.

Below is the transcript. Click “expand to read:

CNN’s Don’t forget Lemon tonight
February 7, 2022
Eastern 10:00:01

DON LEMON (Don): This is my personal message to everyone at the top. Wait, I’ll just grab your notes.

Many people have been wondering about what is happening. CNN is having a hard few days. It has been an extremely difficult day. This week, really. I was reluctant to speak about it except tonight.

The truth is, we all are heartbroken at the loss of our leader. The man who provided the company’s backbone, glue and spirit was gone. This man is the one I’m most grateful to for my transformation. The man who believed and supported me in times when none else could.

This is why you get two hours of primetime for a gay and black man. It has my name on it. Only cable news anchor who is of color during primetime. You should think about this. Are you ready to speak about diversity? It’s here.

This week has been difficult for me and many others at CNN. There are 3,000 colleagues. But there is more than 3,000. To my colleagues, 3,000 of us. This is for the younger people who aren’t as fortunate as me.

Since 1996, I have been with this network almost sixteen years. There have been ups and downs. Ratings highs and lows. We’ve seen it all. Regime change. Through it all, we’ve seen a lot. And through all of it, our mission has remained unchanged. We deliver the facts. This is exactly what Ted Turner did here when he turned on the lights. We did it through the two Gulf Wars, 9/11 and Katrina.

While Jeff Zucker might not have created this network, he did revive it and make it useful again. It was his steady hand that kept it going for over a decade. His legacy was a solid blueprint that will guide us in the future.

To all my viewers at home, please know that I, along with my colleagues, will continue doing exactly what he wants us to. That is, to do what I am going to do now. No matter the situation, deliver the news without any fear or favour.

We are grateful to Jeff Zucker for all that you have done for this network, and the whole country.

Let’s move on.

All of you, good evening. Don Lemon is my name and CNN is my company.