{"id":95,"date":"2026-05-21T19:08:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=95"},"modified":"2026-05-21T19:08:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T19:08:42","slug":"don-lemon-trashes-ex-boss-ahead-of-colberts-last-show-spectacular-example-of-a-white-man-failing-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=95","title":{"rendered":"Don Lemon trashes ex-boss ahead of Colbert’s last show: ‘Spectacular’ example ‘of a white man failing up’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon trashed his ex-boss and \u201cunqualified\u201d white men in general in a long-winded, racially charged essay about the end of \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lemon\u2019s outrageous comments came in a Substack screed published Thursday that noted Chris Licht came from CBS to CNN, where he eventually axed the journo.<\/p>\n

The journo referred to Licht, who was an executive producer for Colbert before becoming chair and CEO of CNN, \u201cone of the most spectacular examples of a white man failing up that I have witnessed in this industry. <\/p>\n

\u201cProfoundly unqualified. Visibly incompetent. Elevated anyway,\u201d the ex-anchor raved. \u201cBecause that is how that world protects certain people and discards others. And the people it discards are almost always the ones making the powerful uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Licht\u2019s tumultuous 13-month reign at CNN \u2014 which included a mandate from higher-ups to move the network\u2019s left-leaning coverage toward the political center \u2014 was marred by slumping ratings and sinking employee morale, as well as the disastrous launch of a new morning show.<\/p>\n

That program was helmed by Kaitlan Collins, Poppy Harlow and Lemon, who was ousted after he made sexist remarks about politician Nikki Haley and clashed with his co-anchors.<\/p>\n

In his blog post, titled \u201cDon\u2019t cry for Stephen Colbert. Cry for the First Amendment,\u201d Lemon did not address his own missteps but opted to focus on race.<\/p>\n

TV \u201cis a world that has been extraordinarily good to a very specific kind of person. White men who fail spectacularly and are promoted for it,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhite men who make catastrophic decisions and are handed bigger offices for it. White men who are visibly, demonstrably unqualified and are given more power anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lemon claimed his ouster stemmed from his criticism of Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe networks didn\u2019t like me asking conservatives hard questions. CNN didn\u2019t like the mirror I was holding up every night,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cSo they pushed me out. And I thought: if it happened to me it will happen to others. It will trickle down. Or up. Depending on how you look at it. Now it has trickled all the way to late night television.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lemon noted Colbert\u2019s show was losing $40 million to $50 million a year, according to CBS.<\/p>\n

But he emphasized what\u2019s \u201calso true\u201d is that Colbert\u2019s \u201ccancellation\u201d was announced \u201ctwo days after Colbert publicly criticized Trump\u2019s settlement with Paramount, CBS\u2019s parent company, over a \u201960 Minutes\u2019 interview with Kamala Harris.\u201c<\/p>\n

Calling Colbert \u201cbrilliant,\u201d Lemon said the late-night host will find a new chapter after his last show on Thursday, adding that the \u201creal victim\u201d is the First Amendment and journalism.<\/p>\n

Read more DOJ charges 15 fraudsters who stole $90M in Minnesota \u2014 including \u2018largest autism fraud scheme ever\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon trashed his ex-boss and “unqualified” white men in general in a long-winded, racially charged essay about the end of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":94,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"yoast_head":"\nDon Lemon trashes ex-boss ahead of Colbert's last show: 'Spectacular' example 'of a white man failing up' - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=95\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don Lemon trashes ex-boss ahead of Colbert's last show: 'Spectacular' example 'of a white man failing up' - 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