Chris Cuomo Shocked by Former Friend Don Lemon's Return to CNN After Public Firing
Chris Cuomo broke his silence this week after his former CNN colleague and friend Don Lemon returned to the network for an interview about Elon Musk, RadarOnline.com can report.
Lemon returned to CNN on Wednesday night – marking the former host’s first time back at CNN since he was fired from the network in April 2023.
The former CNN star visited his old network to discuss his recent interview with Musk – an interview that ultimately led the tech billionaire to cancel Lemon’s new X show just days before it was scheduled to launch.
Flash forward to Thursday, and Cuomo – who was fired from CNN in December 2021 – discussed Lemon’s surprising return.
According to Cuomo, he was “shocked” to see his former friend and CNN colleague return to the network less than one year after Lemon was axed.
Cuomo, who now works at NewsNation, also claimed that he was “happy” that Lemon “got to go back” and that he would “love to see” Lemon back at CNN full-time.
“Him showing up on CNN again was such a shock, and yet it was a pleasant shock for me,” the Cuomo host said on Thursday night. “I was happy he got to go back.”
“The way they got rid of him, I know what that’s like and I know what it must have been like for Don and I’m glad that he was back there,” Cuomo continued. “And I’d love to see him back.”
“I think he’d be a great help to CNN,” Cuomo concluded.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Lemon’s temporary return to CNN on Wednesday night came a few hours after he revealed that Elon Musk canceled his upcoming new X show, The Don Lemon Show.
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“Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X, which they announced as part of their public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices on their platform,” Lemon announced in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
“He informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday,” Lemon continued. “That interview will remain the premiere episode of The Don Lemon Show on Monday, March 18.”
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Lemon then played a series of clips from his interview with Musk during his appearance on CNN – most of which focused on questions about the Tesla billionaire’s drug use, concerns about rising hate speech on X, and Musk’s recent meeting with ex-President Donald Trump.
"Free speech is only important when someone you don't like, or I would say someone who doesn't have your same point of view, if they are allowed to speak freely and to say their point of view," Lemon during CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront on Wednesday night.
"Apparently, that doesn't matter to Elon Musk,” he continued. “It's just for maybe talking points for him or rhetoric because it doesn't seem to matter when it's about him, questions about him from people like me."
Meanwhile, Lemon’s disastrous interview with Musk and the subsequent cancellation of The Don Lemon Show on X has been contrasted with Cuomo’s recent interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson on NewsNation earlier this week.