CNN presenter Don Lemon is reportedly departing the network with at least $25 million but is prepared for a legal battle with his former employer.
According to Page Six, Lemon, the 51-year-old former co-host of “CNN This Morning,” signed a high $7 million-per-year contract with CNN in September 2022 that goes until 2026.
However, it was disclosed on Tuesday, April 24, that Lemon has recruited high-powered Los Angeles entertainment attorney Bryan Freedman to ensure his leave and investigate if the former anchor is entitled to a further compensation, according to the article.
Freedman, co-founder of the law firm Freedman & Taitelman LLP, also represents Lemon’s former CNN colleague Chris Cuomo, who is still in arbitration with CNN and seeking $125 million in retaliation for his firing. Cuomo was fired in 2021 for advising his brother, then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, during his public problems.
According to a CNN source familiar with Lemon’s contract, “Don was signed on a high seven-figure deal for the morning show last September, and is assured by CNN he will be paid the remainder of his contract, which runs until 2026.”
“He has retained lawyer Bryan Freedman to conclude this deal, and also to investigate if Don could be eligible to further damages surrounding the conditions of his exit.”
Chris Cuomo remains in litigation with the network and claims he was entitled to a staggering $125 million payout because CNN allegedly defamed him on his way out the door. He called his termination by the CNN “the epitome of hypocrisy,” according to the legal papers.