Former CNN personality Don Lemon was ousted from the network after a number of controversial statements. The anchor’s departure came on the same day that Fox News parted ways with its most popular host, Tucker Carlson.

Lemon had gained considerable attention due to controversies during his tenure at the news outlet.

The firing ended Lemon’s 17-year relationship with the company. 

Lemon tweeted that he was “stunned by the news.”

The former host said that he was never “given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network.”

The anchor allegedly yelled at his colleague Kaitlan Collins following a CNN segment in December. Lemon allegedly spoke harshly to Collins for “interrupting” him on air to the point that Collins “ran out of the studio.” 

Lemon has also been accused of “diva-like” behavior. One recent Variety magazine report cited approximately a dozen ex-CNN staffers. 

He was also accused of sending threatening text messages from an anonymous phone number to a former co-anchor in 2008.

In February, the host stated that Republican presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) was not “in her prime.” Lemon continued after being challenged by fellow host Poppy Harlow. Lemon said that women are in their primes in their “20s, 30s and 40s.”

Haley called Lemon’s ouster a “great day for women everywhere.”

The last major interview Lemon aired before his release sparked considerable criticism. Lemon interviewed Republican 2024 candidate Vivek Ramaswamy last week, sparking concern within the network. 

Lemon’s interview was marked by the host arguing with the presidential candidate over the Second Amendment and racial issues.

Lemon told Ramaswamy that he was insulted that the candidate was “sitting here, whatever ethnicity you are, explaining to me what it’s like” to be Black.

The presidential candidate took to Twitter to criticize support for Lemon by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA). Ramaswamy wrote that the California Democrat agreed with Lemon that he “can’t talk” to a Black man about “civil rights history” because he wasn’t Black himself.

In the same breath @RoKhanna says he agrees with @DonLemon that I can’t talk to a black man about civil rights history because I’m not black, he then proceeds to say Indian Americans must express gratitude about the black civil rights movement. Which is it?

The reality: they… https://t.co/UJZ7xIF5kB

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) April 25, 2023