CNN staffers reacted furiously yesterday to reports that former anchor Don Lemon would be getting $24.5 million from the network — despite being fired in disgrace.
“I can’t believe we just paid Don Lemon all this money,” said one exasperated insider. “They just wiped out the morning show team and they are paying him $25 million!”
Employees were especially peeved after receiving an email on Tuesday that informed them that their bonuses would be cut by between 15% and 20%.
The Wrap reported that Lemon, 57, will be paid what he was owed on his CNN contract, or nearly $25 million.
However, the beleaguered news network flatly denied the report on Tuesday.
“While we never comment on specifics of any employee contract, this story is incorrect,” a CNN spokesperson told The Post.
Network deny
The rep did not comment about whether the network was denying a settlement had been reached at all, or if the denial only referred to the amount stated by the Wrap’s sources.
The company-wide missive told staffers they should expect to get 75% of their targeted bonuses, which are a percentage of their salary.
The amount was down from the 90% range of bonuses a year earlier under fired CEO Chris Licht.
“The tone of the email was that it was a year of stabilization,” said an insider. “It basically said we did really well to launch new shows and to stabilize the ship but we ran into some of the same headwinds as other media companies.”
The source added that in previous years under Licht’s predecessor, Jeff Zucker, bonuses could exceed 100% of the target.
A source close to the network confirmed the lower bonuses but noted that all staffers received merit increases in their salaries. The source did not say whether the merit increases offset the decline in bonuses.
New CNN boss Mark Thompson recently reshuffled the morning lineup, effectively canceling “CNN This Morning” hosted by Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly, and telling the show’s 50-person staff to reapply for new jobs.
Lemon was axed from CNN in April after his brief and tumultuous run as a morning show co-host by then-CEO Licht, who was later booted himself.
Lemon’s ouster came just two months after he was forced to apologize for saying on air that as a woman over age 50, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley was “past her prime.”
Squeezed out
The veteran anchor said at the time he was blindsided by his unceremonious dismissal, claiming he learned of it from his agent.
“I am stunned after 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly,” he wrote on social media.
“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,” he added. “It is clear that there are some larger issues at play.”
CNN’s public relations branch disputed Lemon’s account of the supposed firing, releasing their own version of events.
“Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate,” CNN Communications tweeted. “He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
During an interview in July, Lemon defended his ouster by claiming he had a “responsibility to tell the truth” as a journalist.
“I’m not a perfect person. No one is,” Lemon added.
“In order to fulfill the promise of the Constitution, we have to stand up for what is right. We have to stand up for the truth.”
Lemon is getting ready to launch his own show, “The Don Lemon Show,” on Elon Musk’s X platform in the coming weeks.