Don Lemon can’t anchor “The Don Lemon Show” at present, but that doesn’t mean the program has gone quiet.
A group of prominent creators, influencers and media figures kept Lemon’s YouTube channel active Friday, asking viewers who call themselves “Lemon Heads” to support the journalist after he was arrested and charged with federal civil rights crimes after trying to live-stream a protest at a church service in Minnesota earlier in January. Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles and is expected to appear a court hearing Friday afternoon. Others were arrested on similar charges Friday, including Minnesota journalist Georgia Fort.
“We cannot be scared,” said Katie Phang, who was anchoring an hour of “The Don Lemon Show,” Friday afternoon while urging viewers to subscribe to Lemon’s media properties. The former MSNBC opinion host, now operating her own independent media outlet talked with Tim Miller from The Bulwark,, among others. “This is definitely a moment.”
A single chyron remained unchanged at the bottom of the screen: “Breaking: Don Lemon Arrested.”
Lemon’s YouTube channel went into rolling coverage of his arrest starting at 10 a.m., according to a person familiar with the matter. Among those making appearances were comedian DL Hughley, Joy Reid, Wajahat Ali, Jim Acosta, Anthony Scaramucci and Olivia Troye.
Since exiting CNN in 2023, Lemon has put the bulk of his effort into leading an independent media operation, holding forth on YouTube, Tik Tok and Instagram, and mixing it up with newsmakers as well as people on the street. “It’s not very often you get to this stage of your life and get to reinvent yourself and learn new things,” Lemon told Variety earlier in January. The departure from “forced me” to pivot, and, as a result, he adds, “I feel younger and more a part of the culture and the zeitgeist than when” he worked at the news outlet.
Lemon was in Los Angeles to do some work from the Grammys, part of a strategy he has been pursuing around live events. He recently did a New Year’s Eve show from New Orleans, a reboot of sorts of the work he used to do for CNN following Anderson Cooper’s hosting of coverage from Times Square. He wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to pull the whole thing off. He hired the production crew and camera personnel, and had to make certain the event space had the proper connectivity that would stay intact throughout the day. He also had to make sure his coverage had a sponsor, and his team lined up Don Julio tequila.
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A groundswell of support has risen since Lemon’s arrest was announced Friday morning, with CNN and other parties expressing dismay.
“The federal government prosecuting journalists for their reporting is extremely concerning, made more so by its continued pursuit of these charges after a magistrate judge refused to sign-off on the arrest warrant and over the reported objections of career prosecutors,” the ACLU said in a statement. “This will send a chilling message to other journalists reporting on the administration’s actions, and should be understood in the context of the government’s broader crackdown on freedom of the press.”
From Variety US