Chris Licht’s CNN Exit Dubbed ‘Karma’ by Twitter Users: ‘Somewhere Don Lemon Is Laughing His Ass Off’
Chris Licht officially exited his position of CEO at CNN on Wednesday morning and, for many online, it was no big surprise. A fairly large swath of folks on Twitter actually dubbed it “karma” for Licht’s firing of CNN anchor Don Lemon.
Licht’s one-year tenure as CEO and Chairman of CNN Worldwide was turbulent from start to finish, with a disastrous Donald Trump town hall and an unflattering profile in The Atlantic finally breaking staff morale. Upon learning that Licht’s exit is effective immediately, Twitter users suspected that Lemon might be off somewhere celebrating the ouster of the man who ousted him in April.
“Somewhere Don Lemon is laughing his ass off about Chris Licht,” one person wrote. “Karma does work.”
Don Lemon waking up to the Chris Licht news:
pic.twitter.com/77QXKTqFOy— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) June 7, 2023
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon reacts to CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht getting the axe in under two months after Licht fired Lemon.
— Dana (@Dana55692117) June 7, 2023
Somewhere Don Lemon is laughing his ass off about Chris Licht.
Karma does work.— KT (@sloyoroll01973) June 7, 2023
Yall know Don Lemon is on the phone cackling that Chris Licht got fired lol
— Eren Jaeger Did Nothing Wrong (@Gaberull) June 7, 2023
Others drew comparisons between Licht and famous TV and movie characters, including Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) from “Succession,” and The Joker.
“Chris Licht talks about having David Zaslav’s support the same way a Gotham City crime boss talks about the Joker right before the room fills with gas,” Mike Drucker joked.
i know someone looking for an opportunity at a struggling media empire pic.twitter.com/A2AeLDOO1I
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) June 7, 2023
https://t.co/6mmymx8LsF pic.twitter.com/52vQMWx4ka
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) June 7, 2023
Licht’s exit comes just days after The Atlantic published a devastating profile of the CNN boss, which alleged that he told former President Donald Trump to “have fun” during his May town hall on the network. The event drew wide criticisms for even being scheduled at all, and was largely slammed for offering a large platform for Trump to continue spreading misinformation about the 2020 election and further defame author E. Jean Carroll.
Following The Atlantic’s profile, Licht’s impending exit was widely speculated, so many weren’t surprised come Wednesday morning.
“Happening because: 1. These man-made (always men) disasters have the same playbook over and over 2. Staff in major uproar and now not hiding it — I mean, why should they? 3. Trouble getting far too close to the king (Zaslav),” Kara Swisher wrote, after predicting on Tuesday that Licht’s fate would be announced sooner than later.
Happening because: 1. These man-made (always men) disasters have the same playbook over and over 2. Staff in major uproar and now not hiding it — I mean, why should they? 3. Trouble getting far too close to the king (Zaslav). https://t.co/fa5uPkh6yT
— Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) June 7, 2023
You can check out more reactions to Licht’s exit below.
Chris Licht's tenure leading CNN lasted about 400 days, or 40 scaramuccis.
— Charlotte Clymer
(@cmclymer) June 7, 2023
Licht managed to alienate everybody at CNN and people might think giving a magazine profile access was fatally stupid, but my experience of the media industry says all of this would have been irrelevant to a boss’ longevity if he had made ratings go up instead of down.
— Matt Pearce
(@mattdpearce) June 7, 2023
chris licht: the latest in a line of media leaders who burned their own house down with their determination to be antiwoke and prove their “independence” from liberals who criticize them on twitter
— Wesley (@WesleyLowery) June 7, 2023
Chris Licht flew too close to the media malpractice sun. He held on to familiar 2015-2016 media misconceptions—a weird false objectivity that, in effect, leans right. A total misread of the political moment and misunderstanding of what the media ecosystem needs. Good riddance. https://t.co/4HotSCUcLU
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) June 7, 2023
I want a velvet painting of Chris Licht playing cards with Don Lemon, Tucker Carlson and Chris Cuomo. https://t.co/SFLiWUrb29
— Ned Steiner (@NedSteiner) June 7, 2023