By Mark Gray
6:30pm PDT, Apr 27, 2023
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Life moves pretty fast! On April 24, the cable news world made headlines of its own with the ousting of two huge broadcasters — Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon. Fox News first stunned the world when it announced it had parted ways with Tucker, who helmed the network's most watched show. A few hours later, it emerged that CNN had fired Don. "I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned," he tweeted. Following the new of their exits, several celebrities and bold-faced names reacted…
Keep reading to see what's being said about Tucker and Don...
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"Good for Tucker. Trust me, he doesn't need them" — Megyn Kelly
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Don Lemon's first public comments following his CNN firing came on April 26. Though he was "stunned" by his ouster, he said he wasn't angry about what happened. "It's not in my nature," Don told Page Six at the TIME 100 gala. "I'm not an angry person, I'm not mad." He added, "I'm a very resilient person. I've had a very full life with lots of twists and turns. I come from strong, sturdy stock in Louisiana and I am lucky enough to be in a position where I don't have to worry about, you know, not having a place to live or a home or whatever."
He also shared that he was lucky to have support from loved ones including his fiancé, Tim Malone (pictured). "I have people around me who love me, including this gentleman right here, so I'm good." Don further told Page Six that looking forward, "My emotions are upward. There's a reason that this happened and then we'll see what happens in the future but I'm actually here to celebrate the people from TIME 100 and not talk about me and what's happened to me."
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On April 26, Tucker Carlson issued a statement via a Twitter video, telling followers — without directly addressing his firing — "One of the first things you realize when you step outside the noise for a few days is how many genuinely nice people there are in this country. Kind and decent people, people who really care about what's true. And a bunch of hilarious people, also. A lot of those. It's gotta be the majority of the population, even now. So that's heartening."
He continued, "The other thing you notice when you take a little time off is how unbelievably stupid most of the debates you see on television are. They're completely irrelevant. They mean nothing. In five years, we won't even remember that we had them. Trust me, as someone who has participated. And then at the same time, and this is the amazing thing, the undeniably big topics, the ones that will define our future, get virtually no discussion at all. War. Civil liberties. Emerging science. Demographic change. Corporate power. Natural resources. When was the last time you heard a legitimate debate about any of those issues? It's been a long time. Debates like that are not permitted in American media."
Tucker ended his statement saying that America's "current orthodoxies won't last" and there "aren't many places left" to find "Americans saying true things." He added, "Both political parties, and their donors, have reached consensus on what benefits them, and they actively collude to shut down any conversation about it. Suddenly, the United States looks very much like a one-party state. That's a depressing realization, but it's not permanent. Our current orthodoxies won't last. They're brain dead. Nobody actually believes them. Hardly anyone's life is improved by them. This moment is too inherently ridiculous to continue. And so it won't."
He finished, "The people in charge know this; that's why they're hysterical and aggressive. They're afraid. They've given up persuasion, they're resorting to force. But it won't work. When honest people say what's true, calmly and without embarrassment, they become powerful. At the same time, the liars, who have been trying to silence them, shrink and they become weaker. That's the iron law of the universe. True things prevail. Where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren't many places left, but there are some. And that's enough. As long as you can hear the words, there is hope. See you soon."
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"It's so not right to pile on to #Tucker when he is down like this, that piece o s***, lowlife, punk***, scumbag, lowlife little b****." –Ron Perlman
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"They say Rupert Murdoch made this decision, so this is more like an episode of 'Succession' than last night's episode of 'Succession,'" late night host Jimmy Kimmel said in his monologue. Jimmy also quipped, "What a shock. What an absolutely delightful shock this is."
Of both Tucker and Don's exits, Jimmy added, "Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson — for those of you who don't follow cable news, this is like if Ronald McDonald and the Burger King got fired on the same day."
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"Happy Monday, MotherTucker" –Maren Morris
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Comedy star Seth Meyers joked during a special "A Closer Look" segment on his late night show, "Does this mean that Fox News has gone… woke?" and quipped, "It's easy to make jokes about Tucker being gone, but now who's going to tell me which M&M is most woke, y'know?"
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"Firing Tucker Carlson in 2023 is like Firing Walter Cronkite in 1968 after the Tet Offensive…" –Rob Schneider
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"Fox knows their viewers are going to miss Tucker, so until they find a replacement, his show will be hosted by a golf shirt with the collars popped," joked late night host Jimmy Fallon, who also quipped, "Some people aren't sure what led to his exit, but Fox says they can think of almost of a billion reasons why," a clear reference to its enormous settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation charges related to Fox's coverage of the 2020 election.
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"#TuckerCarlson will no longer be spreading his lies, distortions and misinformation on #FoxNews. This is the moment we've all been waiting for for years. But how will #Fox explain his absence?" –Bette Midler
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"Hey Tucker, there's always Truth Social." —Dan Rather
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"Tucker Carlson has now worked at and left MSNBC, CNN and Fox News. He's running out of options now. Like soon he's just going to be on the Weather Channel, saying that hurricanes are caused by drag queens." –late night host James Corden
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"Tucker Carlson is out at FOX NEWS & I love it" –Michael Rapaport
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"Tucker Carlson AND Don Lemon out on the same Monday morning…This could be a very interesting week!" —Jeri Ryan
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"I guess this is what you call a Lemon drop" —Roger Stone
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"Stunned by the Tucker Carlson news. At the end of the day, lies spread on Fox News cost the company nearly a billion $$. Even the most watched man on cable news can't make up for that. Election lies have hurt the country & immeasurably hurt the GOP. Hope this is a turning pt." –Alyssa Farah Griffin
