Saturday 5 February 2022

'It's been hard to come into work this week': Emotional Don Lemon finally addresses Jeff Zucker scandal and praises the man who gave him his $4million-a-year deal

 CNN anchor Don Lemon welled up in tears as he finally discussed Jeff Zucker's resignation for keeping secret his relationship with a co-worker and lavished praise on his former boss for all he has done for him over the years. 

The host of 'Don Lemon Tonight' started Friday's show with a 'personal message' following a 'very tough day' for him after Jeff Zucker, 56, was ousted from CNN on Wednesday for not disclosing to the network that he was involved with Allison Gollust, 49, his friend and colleague of over 20 years.  


They claim their romance began during the pandemic, but sources tell DailyMail.com and other outlets that their secret relationship had started years earlier. 

After two days of not reporting on the downfall of one of the most powerful men in media, a teary-eyed Lemon thanked Zucker for giving him a career in TV news.

What Lemon didn't broach was the photo of Zucker and his lover Gollust at a Billy Joel concert that helped expose their relationship - and in which he is featured prominently in the row behind the couple. 

Lemon - who was featured prominently in a photo of Zucker and his lover Allison Gollust at a Billy Joel concert that helped expose their relationship- offered high praise for the man he credited for his career

Lemon - who was featured prominently in a photo of Zucker and his lover Allison Gollust at a Billy Joel concert that helped expose their relationship- offered high praise for the man he credited for his career

Don Lemon started his show with a 'personal message' after a 'very tough day' for him days following his former boss Jeff Zucker's resignation

Don Lemon started his show with a 'personal message' after a 'very tough day' for him days following his former boss Jeff Zucker's resignation

Instead, what viewers saw was a passionate on-air farewell and defense of the man who gave him a $4 million annual salary to host his own show. 

'The truth is we are all heartbroken because we lost our leader here, we lost a man who was the backbone, the glue and the spirit of his company,' Lemon began.

'The man who I personally credit with changing my life, the man who believed in me when no one else did. He is the reason you have a gay, black man with two hours of prime time, a show with my name on it. The only anchor of color on prime time cable news, think about that. You want to talk about diversity? Here it is.' 


Lemon went on to discuss the low morale he and his colleagues have been facing in doing their jobs since Zucker left the building. 

'It has been hard to come into work this week, not only for me but for so many of us here at CNN, more than 3,000 of us,' he said. 

'Let me just say this to my colleagues who may have not been here as long as I have, younger folks who have not weathered the storms. I've been at this network for almost 16 years, we have been through ups and downs, ratings high, ratings low, everything. Regime changes, we've been through a lot and through it all our mission has remained the same: to deliver the facts, deliver the news, it is what we did when Ted Turner turned the lights on in here, it is what we did through two gulf wars, through 9/11, through Katrina, through an insurrection.'

Lemon continued: 'Jeff Zucker may not have launched this network, but he revived it, he made it relevant again. He steadied it for the last decade. He left us with a very good blueprint going forward. So for all of you at home watching, you should know that I and my colleagues will continue to do exactly what he would want us to do and that is to do what I'm going to do right now: deliver the news, no matter what it is, without fear or favor. So thank you Jeff Zucker for everything you did for everyone at this network and what you did for the entire country. So, lets just move on.'

Lemon gave the somber on-air farewell to his former boss who gave him a $4 million annual salary for hosting 'Don Lemon Tonight'

Lemon gave the somber on-air farewell to his former boss who gave him a $4 million annual salary for hosting 'Don Lemon Tonight'

 

Zucker, 56, was ousted from CNN earlier this week for not disclosing to the network that he was involved with Allison Gollust, 49, his friend and colleague of over 20 years.

Zucker, 56, was ousted from CNN earlier this week for not disclosing to the network that he was involved with Allison Gollust, 49, his friend and colleague of over 20 years.

Zucker lost his $6 million-a-year-job for violating the company's Standards of Business Conduct when he failed to disclose his romantic relationship with Gollust, who remains CNN EVP and chief marketing officer. 

'I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong.' 

Lemon faced his own ethical issues at the network in December after it was revealed he contacted former Empire star Jussie Smollett to tell him Chicago police didn't believe his story.

Smollett, who is gay, testified in court during his trial that Lemon sent him a text message warning him that detectives didn't believe his tale of being been beaten in the middle of the night by two white men wearing MAGA hats during a homophobic attack in 2019.  

Following the revelation there were calls for CNN to fire the host.  

Lemon told his viewers after the incident occurred that he was in constant communication with Smollett because the story was 'personal' to him since the pair were friends.

He claimed the actor was 'innocent until proven guilty' and will have 'squandered the good will of a whole lot of people' if he was lying.  

As for Lemon's former boss, late Wednesday night it was reported that Zucker and Gollust lobbied Andrew Cuomo to appear on their network during the pandemic - violating company policy and calling into question their own condemnation of Chris Cuomo's actions.

The pair contacted the then-governor of New York directly to try and convince him to appear on his brother Chris Cuomo's show during the pandemic, despite the brotherly interviews breaching journalistic protocols.

When Cuomo's team declined, they would make direct appeals.

'The truth is we are all heartbroken because we lost our leader here, we lost a man who was the backbone, the glue and the spirit of his company,' Lemon said about his former boss

'The truth is we are all heartbroken because we lost our leader here, we lost a man who was the backbone, the glue and the spirit of his company,' Lemon said about his former boss

The revelations raise further questions about Zucker's handling of the Cuomo brothers saga, and call into question Gollust's continued employment by the company.

Zucker was 'outed' by lawyers working for fired anchor Chris Cuomo, who The New York Post reported went to Zucker's bosses, executives at parent company AT&T, to inform of his relationship.

After the news broke, CNN host Alisyn Camerota defended Zucker and Gollust, saying there was nothing wrong with their relationship because they are both 'executives'.

Brian Stelter, CNN's media correspondent, blamed it all on Chris Cuomo, who exposed the romance through his attorneys while negotiating an exit-package.

'These are two consenting adults who are both executives. That they can't have a private relationship feels wrong,' she said to Stelter and Victor Blackwell.

Zucker and Gollust were spotted at a Billy Joel concert last November, where they were called out for defying mask regulations. Don Lemon could also be seen during the concert standing in the row behind.

CNN staffers were left stunned by Zucker's resignation and sudden departure.

'Zucker and Gollust's relationship was one of the biggest open secrets in media. CNN staffers awkwardly navigated the pairing, since every time they dealt with her, they were keenly aware that she was involved with the boss. They were rolling their eyes at Gollust's own statement that said 'recently, our relationship changed during Covid.' It had been going on for much longer, ' wrote NYMag's Shawn McCreesh.

One suggestion is that Zucker was 'outed' by Cuomo, who is trying to get an $18 million payout from the network having been fired by Zucker in December, after it was revealed he had been helping his brother, former governor Andrew Cuomo navigate his sexual harassment allegations.

Cuomo's camp has refuted any suggestions that he had anything to do with his departure. The network has also not found a replacement for his old 9pm time slot, which was the floundering network's highest rated prime time show.

'Zucker has always had detractors inside CNN, but they are outnumbered by his loyalists, and none of that loyalty eroded today. Staffers who were initially shocked by parent company WarnerMedia's action turned disappointed and angry later in the day,' wrote CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter.

'Outside these walls, Zucker is a larger-than-life figure in the news business, but here in the office, he was the boss right down the hall, always ready with a disarming joke or a story idea. We did not see this coming,' Stelter added.

Zucker made a long-list of enemies over the years at CNN, most notable of whom is Donald Trump.

Trump celebrated his resignation on Wednesday, saying in an emailed statement: 'Jeff Zucker, a world-class sleazebag who has headed ratings and real-news-challenged CNN for far too long, has been terminated for numerous reasons, but predominantly because CNN has lost its way with viewers and everybody else.

'Now is a chance to put Fake News in the backseat because there may not be anything more important than straightening out the horrendous LameStream Media in our Country, and in the case of CNN, throughout the World.

'Jeff Zucker is gone - congratulations to all!' he said.

Megyn Kelly, former FOX News host, tweeted: 'Zucker's relationship with Gollust went on for years, and what he did to keep her near him (as he kept advancing her up the line) will be even more stunning to the CNN news room.'

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