“I take an antidepressant now”: Don Lemon admits to suffering from depression following CNN firing

Don Lemon, the American television journalist, recently opened up about his mental health. He revealed that he went on antidepressants after he was axed from CNN over the summer.

The 58-year-old appeared on an episode of the Tamron Hall Show on Thursday, March 21, 2024. He expressed to viewers and the host,

"I have suffered from depression. I take an antidepressant now, so I'm very transparent about that. It helped me get through the summer after losing [my] job [and] being fired."

The former anchor's new show was just axed from Elon Musk’s platform, X, formerly Twitter after the tech giant appeared on its first episode. Previously, he worked as a host on the channel from 2014 until he was fired in April 2023.

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Don Lemon tells Tamron Hall that antidepressants helped get him through CNN's firing

Don Lemon was let go of his job as an anchor at CNN in April 2023, 17 years after he first began at the network. He joined the network in 2006, hosting Don Lemon Tonight for more than eight years, and also anchored CNN This Morning with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.

The network's CEO, Chris Licht, had told staff in a memo at the time about the news, saying,

"Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors."

However, Lemon explained in Thursday's interview with American broadcast journalist Tamron Hall that he was not informed. He had tweeted about the same at the time of the firing,

"I am stunned. At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network."

The network replied to the public statement that he "was offered an opportunity to meet with management" but instead chose to release a statement on X. On the Tamron Hall Show, Don Lemon spoke about consuming anti-depressants to cope with the network firing. The former anchor also revealed he does multiple forms of therapy to help his mental health and overall wellbeing. He told Hall,

"I do talk therapy now, but my doctor has also done guided therapy with me on drugs. I don't know if it's ever been ketamine, but he says, 'You should try other things than SSRI.' Also, I don't know if you've done it, it has helped people with PTSD when you use those drugs, but you have to do it under a doctor's care."

Lemon also announced on Instagram last week, that Elon Musk abruptly canceled his new show on X after the tech businessman was interviewed as the first guest. The Tesla whiz allegedly did not like how it went. Don Lemon wrote,

"Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X, which they announced as part of their public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices on their platform."

There were speculations that Lemon had asked for an $8 million salary, a Cyber track, equity, and veto power over the sites’ news policies, among other demands during the negotiation process.

However, the anchor and his team adamantly denied the rumors. Hall quipped about the situation saying, she would've asked for "a fleet of Teslas. Closed mouths don’t get fed." Don Lemon responded,

"But here’s the thing, you’re right. When people negotiate all the time — and maybe they’re not used to talent negotiations. I’m not saying that any of that’s true. But people ask for a lot of things. That doesn’t mean you’re going to get it. If you don’t ask, you’re not going to get it."

The former anchor's new program, The Don Lemon Show, was supposed to air on X, formerly Twitter. He shared that the show's episodes will continue to be released even after the recent firing from Musk but has not informed his fans on a different platform as of yet.