Don Lemon Discusses Freedom After Leaving CNN

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon expressed on Thursday that parting ways with corporate media has empowered him to speak his mind freely during his appearance on The Bakari Sellers Show.

Lemon shared with Sellers that he has had to break away from the habits instilled during his time in cable news, mentioning a tendency to overthink his words before speaking on air.

“I had to unlearn the habit of thinking 85 times before saying something I learned in corporate media. I didn’t have to do that. I could say whatever I wanted,” Lemon remarked.

He referenced civil rights leader Malcolm X while discussing a commentary he had given that day.

“I could never have said what I did today on corporate media, expressing, ‘Look, I feel the spirit of Malcolm X coming over me when we talk about the ballot and the bullet. And Plymouth Rock, we didn’t land on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us,’” he noted.

Lemon suggested that backing President Donald Trump is more about race than economics.

“I couldn’t say that this issue is a problem for white people right now. It’s not merely rich against poor since most Trump voters are not affluent. They’re working-class white folks who put him in office,” he asserted.

He noted that such comments would have led to accusations of race-baiting if made during his time at CNN.

“If I had said that on corporate media, oh my gosh, you’d be labeled a race baiter. Anchors shouldn’t say things like that. But now, I can say what I want and speak the truth,” Lemon explained. “That approach has contributed to the growth of the Lemon Media Network.”

Later in the conversation, Lemon encouraged Democrats to take legal action against Republicans if they regain the White House in 2028.

“Go after them, sue them, tie them up in lawsuits, make sure they’re held accountable,” he urged. “I want my president to offend people, particularly those who hold misguided beliefs.”

Since his dismissal from CNN in 2023, Lemon has consistently discussed race-related topics. He previously told Bill Maher on Club Random that Trump supporters are “really racist” and that a person cannot be “Black and a rational MAGA supporter.” In October, he advised black and brown Americans to prepare themselves against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

In January, the Department of Justice charged Lemon with conspiracy against religious freedom and for interfering with that right, related to a protest on January 18 at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, maintained that Lemon’s actions in Minneapolis were consistent with his previous work.