Don Lemon was reportedly fired by CNN after an explosive on-air debate with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Lemon announced his termination in a tweet on Monday, saying he was “stunned” and that he learned of his firing from his agent in an email.
During an appearance on “CNN This Morning” last week, Vivek upset Lemon when he accused the Democratic party of destroying Black families.
“In the 1960s, seventy percent of Black kids were born into 2-parent homes. Today that number is less than thirty percent in the opposite direction,” Vivek said.
Lemon told Vivek he was “insulted” by comments the Republican candidate made at the NRA conference last week.
Vivek reportedly said Democrats in the Deep South passed anti-gun laws to prevent Black people from owning guns in the post-Civil War era.
CNN producers played a clip of Vivek speaking at the conference. “I want you to raise your hand if you know when the first anti-gun laws were passed in this country. Raise your hand if you do. 1865,” he said.
Vivek continued: “We fought a civil war in this country to give Black Americans the equal protection under the law that we failed to secure them in 1776. But then you wanna know what happened? Southern states passed anti-gun laws that stopped Black people from owning guns. The Democrat Party, then as in now, wanted to put [Black people] back in chains.”
Lemon told Vivek that his statements “insulted” him as a Black American and that he had no right to talk about the Black experience in America because he’s not Black.
Vivek insisted that Lemon misunderstood his point. He also reasoned that both men should be able to talk about the issue regardless of their skin color.
He corrected Lemon who said the Civil War “was not fought for Black people to have guns.”
“That war was fought for Black people to have freedoms in this country. Actually, that’s why the Civil War was fought,” Vivek said.
“Well, OK,” the flustered anchor replied, “When you are in Black skin and you live in this country, then you can disagree with me.”
During their verbal exchange Lemon snapped at his producers who were in his earpiece apparently trying to tell him that this was not the hill to die on.
“Hang on, please,” he told his producers. “I cannot keep a thought if you guys are talking in my ear.”
Lemon concluded, “The fact that I find insulting is that you are sitting here telling an African American about the rights and what you find insulting about the way I live, the skin I live in every day. And I know the freedoms that Black people don’t have in this country, and that Black people do have.”
The candidate again attempted to reason with Lemon.
“I think we should be able to express our views regardless of the color of our skin. We should have this debate without me regarding you as a Black man.”
Lemon responded, “I think it’s insulting that you’re sitting here — whatever ethnicity you are — ‘splaining to me about what it’s like to be Black in America. I’m sorry,” Lemon said.
“I’ll tell you what I am, I’m an Indian American, and I’m proud of it,” Vivek said.
On Monday, Vivek told Fox News Digital, “It’s clear” their exchange “played a role” in what he called a “sound decision” by CNN to fire Lemon.
“I think that any network that wants to foster open debate should embrace that principle by not restricting what someone can say or saying what someone can say is restricted based on their skin color. And I think they made the right decision here,” he said.
Watch the video below.
