CNN anchor Don Lemon has hit out at the network after his firing, which came after accusations of misogyny and misbehaviour.
“I am stunned,” Mr Lemon wrote on Twitter, saying he was told by his agent he had been let go.
CNN said it “parted ways” with Mr Lemon, who co-hosted its morning show, saying “we wish him well”.
It follows on-air remarks by Mr Lemon in which he wondered whether Republican Nikki Hayley was “in her prime”.
The dismissal also comes on the heels of another major US media departure. Just moments before Mr Lemon’s announcement, Fox News announced it was parting ways with primetime host Tucker Carlson.
A long-time fixture of the network, Mr Lemon was most recently a co-host of CNN’s This Morning programme.
But he landed in hot water earlier this year after comments he made about Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, a former UN ambassador and governor of South Carolina.
Ms Haley, 51, was not “in her prime”, Mr Lemon said in February, a remark widely decried as sexist.
“When a woman is considered to be in her prime – in her 20s, 30s and maybe her 40s,” he said.
“I’m just saying what the facts are – Google it,” he added, in response to the objections of his female co-hosts, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.
Mr Lemon later apologised to the CNN newsroom and agreed to partake in “mandatory training” to address the incident.
The anchor’s reputation was further clouded by a report from Variety earlier in April, which detailed accusations of misogynistic behaviour toward his CNN colleagues.
Mr Lemon called a producer fat to her face, Variety reported, mocked and mimicked one colleague and allegedly sent threatening texts to another. A representative for Mr Lemon denied the reports.
The 57-year-old had appeared on CNN on Monday during the morning programme as normal, before reports of his dismissal were publicised later that day.
“After 17 years at CNN I would have thought someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly,” Mr Lemon wrote on Twitter. “At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network.”
He continued: “It is clear that there are larger issues at play.”
The network did not elaborate on the reason for his dismissal. But in a second statement issued on Monday afternoon, it called Mr Lemon’s description of events “inaccurate”, saying he had been given an opportunity to meet with management.
CNN This Morning will continue with Mr Lemon’s former co-hosts, Ms Harlow and Ms Collins, the network said.