Don Lemon, the American journalist who most recently co-hosted CNN This Morning, was sacked by the company just hours ago. According to sources, Lemon has always used his race and sexuality as a ‘get out of jail free’ pass.

He was also involved in hostile and misogynistic behavior against his colleagues. One such misogynistic comment regarding politician Nikki Haley is what drove the final nail into his coffin.

Lemon’s misbehavior towards colleagues, especially women, goes back a long way. The gay anchor was pulled from shows that required him to co-host with women, that is, until he was featured in CNN This Morning, where his blatant sexism finally got him into the kind of trouble that his ‘black and gay’ card couldn’t save him from.

Is Don Lemon Gay?

Don Lemon publicly came out of the closet in his 2011 memoir, Transparent. He became one of the few openly gay black men in the American broadcasting industry. Lemon stated that he had known about his sexuality since he was five or six.

Lemon was active in discussing colorism in the industry and opened up about the sexual abuse that he had suffered as a child. The journalist discussed in a 2010 interview that he was sexually molested when he was 5 or 6 by a neighboring teenage boy and could only say it to his mother when he was 30.

How Did Don Lemon Get Fired?

On Monday morning, Don Lemon posted a tweet where he raged that CNN had unceremoniously fired him after he served them for 17 years. The tweet claimed that the management didn’t have the decency to tell him directly and rather informed him via his manager.

CNN quickly tweeted back that Lemon’s tweet was inaccurate since he was offered an opportunity to meet management after the show.