(Headline USA) Former CNN host Don Lemon blasted the network in his first interview since being fired, accusing CNN of “platforming liars and bigots.”
Lemon, 57, was ousted from CNN after troubling on-air behavior and multiple scandals. In an interview with ABC24 Memphis on Saturday, Lemon defended his journalistic philosophy, claiming that he only ever strived to stand up for “the truth.”
“I have a responsibility — not only as a journalist but as an American — to tell the truth and to abide by the promises of the Constitution,” he told the outlet. “Because the Constitution says a more perfect union, not a perfect union. I’m not a perfect person. No one is.”
Lemon said that part of standing up for the truth requires censuring certain figures and viewpoints.
“I don’t believe in platforming liars and bigots, insurrectionists and election deniers and putting them on the same footing as people who are telling the truth — people who are fighting for what’s right, people who are abiding by the Constitution,” he said.
“I think that would be a dereliction of journalistic duty to do those sorts of things. That is what has gotten me to this point, and that is what is going to carry me forward.”
Alluding to his abrupt ouster from CNN, Lemon said that all that matters to him now is knowing “that I am standing up and abiding by the Constitution, which my profession demands that I do because we are listed in the First Amendment of the Constitution, which is freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.”
When asked about his future plans, Lemon said he’s in no hurry.
“I’m not going to force anything. I’m not going to let other people’s timeline influence me. I know people say, ‘I miss you on television. What is your next move?’ I’m figuring that out,” he said. “I don’t have to be in a rush. I think people rush and they end up making the wrong decisions. I’m not rushing anything.”
