Former CNN anchor Don Lemon says having his own show is liberating — but a lot less cushy than a network gig.
“I am used to being in a studio system where you have producers [to] take care of you,” Lemon told us. “Now I am the owner. I am the entrepreneur. I have to do payroll. Who is going to do my graphics? I have to hire a writer. I have to hire the producer. I have to do all these things.”
Lemon was stunned by his exit from CNN in April after 17 years at the network when he was ousted by former CEO Chris Licht, who was later axed from the news network himself.
Last month he announced that he would launch his own show on Elon Musk’s platform, X, by posting online, “Today I am back bigger, bolder, freer! My new media company’s first project is ‘The Don Lemon Show.’”
He tells us of the new job, “It’s a lot of work, so I really enjoy doing it — but it is a little bit unnerving because it is new, but exciting.”
Lemon, 57, recently waked the runway as a model at the annual Blue Jacket Fashion Show at Moonlight Studios in NYC.
Lemon previously told us when he left CNN that his immediate plan was to “enjoy my summer, spend it on the beach and have a great time.”
He was then seen regularly around the Hamptons, and has lived a more relaxed lifestyle since his dramatic CNN departure.
When we asked if his phone is ringing as much as in his CNN days, he commented, “I don’t mind my phone not ringing. I like the peace. I have always known who my real friends are… I don’t hold grudges. You do you, I do me.”
He says that on his new show, “I am going to be the same — but more. Just wait, I don’t have to worry about getting in trouble. Freedom it’s the best feeling, freedom.”
He added when we asked about having a leaner operation, “I don’t really need makeup. I can get somebody to do my makeup, but I have done my own for a long time… When I am out on the field I do it on my own.”
Also at the charitable fashion show in support of prostate cancer awareness were Ty Hunter, Tamron Hall, Holly Robinson Peete, Bevy Smith and Fern Mallis.
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