Bitter ex-CNN star Don Lemon slams his former boss for being a 'white man who failed upwards' in attention-seeking rant

Published: 00:39, 22 May 2026 | Updated: 00:39, 22 May 2026 Former CNN star Don Lemon slammed his former boss for being a 'white man who failed upwards' in a desperate attempt for attention. In an almost 2,000-word essay published on Thursday titled, Don’t Cry For Stephen Colbert. Cry For The First Amendment, the 60-year-old took aim at white men in power as he highlighted a 'problem nobody wanted to name out loud.' 'It is a world that has been extraordinarily good to a very specific kind of person,' wrote Lemon, referring to CNN head Chris Licht, who axed the journalist in 2023. 'White men who fail spectacularly and are promoted for it. White men who make catastrophic decisions and are handed bigger offices for it.' Lemon essay continued to blame white men who 'are visibly, demonstrably unqualified and are given more power anyway.' He added that he has watched, managed, and been 'undone' by his white colleagues for thirty years. Lemon refused to name Licht directly but detailed specific details about Licht's career, making it clear to readers that his criticism was about his former boss. 'The executive producer who ran The Late Show for years eventually left. And somehow landed in my world,' wrote the ex-CNN star. Former CNN star Don Lemon published an essay to Substack on Thursday titled, Don’t Cry For Stephen Colbert. Cry For The First Amendment. the 60-year-old took aim at white men in power and his former boss The essay was seemingly about Chris Licht, who axed the journalist in 2023 'That same person, from that same television orbit, eventually became my boss at CNN. And fired me. I won’t name him. I don’t need to.' Lemon added that it was one of the most spectacular examples of a white man failing up that he had ever witnessed in the media industry. He continued by throwing a few insults: 'Profoundly unqualified. Visibly incompetent. Elevated anyway.' Lemon also briefly glanced over his own arrest after he stormed into a Minnesota church on April January 18 to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), stopping the service. He described his actions that day as simply 'covering an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church as an independent journalist.' The essay came just hours before the final showing of Stephen Colbert's talk show, which was announced to be canceled last year. Lemon highlighted that the Colbert show was losing $40 million to $50 million a year, according to CBS. He said that he believed that Colbert was a martyr for free speech. Lemon criticized white men and Licht writing, 'White men who fail spectacularly and are promoted for it. White men who make catastrophic decisions and are handed bigger offices for it' The essay was published hours before the final showing of Stephen Colbert's talk show. Lemon also called Colbert a martyr of free speech Lemon continued by claiming that talk show hosts like Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon are all freedom fighters for criticizing President Donald Trump before taking a shot at Republicans entirely. 'Republicans love to call themselves free speech absolutists. First Amendment warriors. They say it constantly. They built entire political careers on it,' wrote Lemon. 'And every time someone says something they don’t like, every time a comedian lands a joke that stings, every time a journalist asks a question they cannot answer, they find a way to make it stop.' He claimed the right cancels shows, pressure networks, and arrest journalists at protests. 'They are the biggest snowflakes in American public life, wrapping themselves in the language of free speech while working every day to eliminate it for anyone who disagrees with them,' Lemon added. He called on readers to 'cry' for the First Amendment before noting that he had 'built something' after being fired. Lemon's Substack post at the time of this report has fewer than 400 likes. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.