Crisis Consultant: Don Lemon Hires Ex-Boss Jeff Zucker’s Lover, The Same Woman Who Plunged CNN Into Turmoil
Don Lemon made a bold move in the crucial moment after learning his fate at CNN. The television veteran, 57, hired Allison Gollust to handle his crisis communications after being told he had been fired from the network after 17 years. If Allison's name sounds familiar, that's because she got ousted by CNN after RadarOnline.com blew the lid off her secret affair with the cable network's then-boss, Jeff Zucker.
CNN was forced to axe Allison and Jeff, replacing Zucker with Lemon's one-time cheerleader, Chris Licht, who ultimately fired Don after protecting the scandal-plagued anchor.
Sometime between discovering he lost his job, taking to Twitter to slam his former employer, and CNN calling Lemon's statement "inaccurate," Don found the time to enlist the help of his old friend Allison.
According to Puck News, Lemon had already considered seeking outside PR to assist him amid growing tensions with the network; however, he only sought her help officially after being fired on Monday.
Allison resigned as the network's Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer in February 2022 after WarnerMedia — who owns CNN — conducted an internal investigation and found she violated company policy by failing to disclose her affair with Zucker. He held the title of president of the cable news company from 2013 until earlier that month.
RadarOnline.com exposed their affair, which was uncovered during the network's investigation into its then-star Chris Cuomo.
Lemon's fall from CNN was, in part, his fault. Don allegedly held a chip on his shoulder after Licht moved him from primetime to morning television alongside less experienced female anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.
The move was allegedly a compromise Licht made with his boss, David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, who reportedly wanted Don gone altogether.
Lemon skated by scandal after scandal. His behavior made headlines when it was revealed he had "screamed" at Kaitlan in front of staffers following their December 8 broadcast. During his temper tantrum, he accused her of "interrupting" him.
The blowup left colleagues "shaken," with Kaitlan reportedly wanting to work with Lemon as "little as possible" and even threatening to move back to Washington D.C.
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RadarOnline.com exclusively reported that Don had a second outburst, in which he went "ballistic" on employees after discovering his fight with Kaitlan made the company newsletter.
While Lemon faced no repercussions for his behavior toward Kaitlan and staff, Licht was forced to take action after viewers called for his firing earlier this year when he age-shamed the entire female population.
Lemon agreed to enlist in "formal training" after claiming presidential hopeful Nikki Haley "isn't in her prime" at 51 years old, adding women are at their peak in their "20s, 30s, maybe 40s."
Earlier this month, Don's past came to bite him in the backside when Variety published an exposé about his "diva-like" behavior and alleged misogynistic attitude in the workplace.
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The straw that essentially broke the camel's back was his on-air blowup at Vivek Ramaswamy, in which Lemon accused the GOP presidential candidate of "splaining" Black history to him.
RadarOnline.com has reached out to CNN for comment.
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