In the news
■ CNN fired anchor Don Lemon this week, following a series of on-air and behind-thescenes clashes with female colleagues. Lemon, 57, said he was “stunned” to learn from his agent that he’d been fired after 17 years at the cable network, adding, “I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.” CNN said Lemon had declined an invitation to meet with management. His combative hosting style has been an awkward fit on CNN’s new morning show, which has seen dismal ratings. CNN admonished Lemon for saying that GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime” at age 51; when co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlin Collins objected, he told them to “Google it.” The New York Times reported that some guests specified they did not want to appear with Lemon. A final straw, The Daily Beast reported, was Lemon’s highly confrontational interview over America’s racial history with Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy last week; at one point, he told producers on the air to stop “talking in my ear.” Variety reported that in recent months Lemon screamed at Collins for interrupting him and called a producer fat to her face.
■ New Mexico prosecutors dropped involuntary manslaughter charges last week against Alec Baldwin for cinematographer Halyna Hutchins’ 2021 death on the set of the Western Rust. Baldwin, 65, had vehemently maintained his innocence, arguing that he never pulled the trigger of the replica Colt .45 that discharged, killing Hutchins. A new special prosecutor dropped the charges after learning that the firing mechanism of the revolver had been modified, making it possible that the gun misfired.The film’s armorer still faces criminal charges.
■ Actor F. Murray Abraham apologized last week for sexual misconduct on the set of the AppleTV+ series Mythic Quest, but added, “I told jokes, nothing more, that upset some of my colleagues.” Abraham, 83, was let go from the show last year following two allegations of inappropriate behavior. After the first, he reportedly was told to stay away from some of the show’s actresses. “I have grown in my understanding from this experience,” Abraham said.