Don Lemon leaves door open for CNN return: 'Never say never'

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Don Lemon says free speech 'doesn't matter' to Elon Musk after X partnership is canceled

Former CNN host Don Lemon, whose new show was canceled on X following a contentious interview with owner Elon Musk, questioned the Tesla CEO's commitment to free speech.

Don Lemon entertained the idea of returning to CNN following his sudden ousting from the network last year, remarking in a new interview, "Never say never."

While promoting his new digital show, Lemon was asked whether he would ever work for a news "institution" ever again.

"Would you ever go back to CNN?" Mediaite's Aidan McLaughlin asked on Wednesday. 

"Look, I would never say never," Lemon replied. "Most of the people who were involved in my ousting are gone. And so it's kind of the place that it was, you know, before I got there. So that would be interesting."

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Former CNN host Don Lemon left the door open to returning to the network since "most of the people who were involved in my ousting are gone." (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)

Before that, Lemon also entertained the notion of going to left-leaning cable network MSNBC.

"It depends on the terms," Lemon said. "Do I want to be wedded to a show five days a week? I don't know if I want to do that… I was five days a week, two hours- that's what I was set for. And I didn't realize, like, I was killing myself. It's exhausting."

Lemon later added, "If another network called, it would depend on the terms… I don't think I would want to do something every single day, but maybe. It depends on the terms and if it's a great offer, I might go back, but I would still like to continue to do The Don Lemon Show in some form or fashion if that were to happen."

Lemon did appear on CNN last week for the first time since his firing to discuss his spat with X owner Elon Musk, who terminated his partnership with Lemon after an icy interview the liberal host conducted with him for his inaugural show.

Elon Musk and Don Lemon. (Getty Images)

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Lemon was fired by CNN last April following a string of controversies, including clashes with his morning show co-hosts that repeatedly made headlines and the backlash he received for saying then-51-year-old Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was "past her prime." 

The man who fired Lemon, then-CNN CEO Chris Licht, was fired following his own newsroom drama in June, and leadership at the network has since changed.

The possibility of Lemon returning to the fold is not completely out of reach as Jeffrey Toobin, CNN's former chief legal analyst who was widely believed to have also been pushed out by Licht, has made over a dozen on-air appearances as a guest in recent weeks. He is not an official contributor, however.

Chris Licht, now former chairman and CEO, CNN Worldwide, spoke onstage during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 17, 2023 in New York City. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

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Toobin was previously welcomed back to CNN by Licht's predecessor Jeff Zucker – who was also fired by the network – after Toobin took a lengthy leave of absence following his Zoom masturbation scandal in 2020.