CNN offices were left scrambling over the weekend.
Two major incidents rocked the liberal network.
First, longtime opinion host Don Lemon announced the end of his late night show, “Tonight with Don Lemon.”
Second, the network fired a contributing reporter for posting a pro-Hitler social media post to Twitter on Sunday.
Both weekend controversies set off major firestorms.
According to The Washington Examiner reporting, CNN contributor Adeel Raja, who has worked as a freelancer for the network for more than six years, wrote that “the world today needs a Hitler,’ Sunday on his Twitter account.
Reports say the tweet is now deleted, but not before it was capture by vigilant journalists.
You can view a photo of the captured tweet below:
The charged tweet comes amid ongoing and escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
Based on Examiner reporting, CNN Spokesperson Matt Dornic claimed that Raja no longer has a place with the network.
“… In light of these abhorrent statements, he will not be working with CNN again in any capacity,” he said.
But that wasn’t all.
Star host Don Lemon set off a nuclear reaction from pundits everywhere when he announced that his longtime nightly program would be coming to an end.
Friday night he said, “this is the last night we’ll be ‘CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.'”
The abrupt announcement caught many pundits off guard and confused by the brief sign-off. Many concluded that the move made sense given CNN’s abysmal ratings as of late.
But his program isn’t coming to an end at all.
Not really.
“Technically” his show — “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon” — is over. But it will be rebranded under a new name…
“Don Lemon Tonight.”
Lemon, after making the announcement, took to Twitter to clear up the incident with a promise that he will explain what’s taking place Monday night.
Hey everyone. Not what you think. I’m not leaving CNN. Tune in for the handoff on Monday at 10pE and I’ll explain. pic.twitter.com/oOwDferY2i
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) May 15, 2021
“Didn’t mean to set the internet on fire,” he wrote.
Didn’t mean to set the internet on fire. What I said last night was true. CNN Tonight with Don Lemon is no more. I’ll be back on Monday with my newly named show Don Lemon Tonight. See you Monday at 10pE. pic.twitter.com/89GFXULV9m
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) May 15, 2021
Critics across social media were outraged, and labeled the move a stunt to score ratings boost amid a brutal stretch of poor ratings compared to rivals Fox News and MSNBC.
RedState, however, has theorized that a staff shakeup still may be coming, and teased the possibility of either Anderson Cooper or Chris Cuomo walking away from the network.
The Horn editorial team