Howard Stern said on Tuesday that ousted CNN anchor Don Lemon and fired NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell were both fortunate to lose their jobs at the same time as Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.
The SiriusXM star argued that Carlson’s exit gobbled up public attention that would have otherwise focused on the scandal-ridden Lemon, whose firing was announced Monday soon after Fox parted ways with its host.
Shell was fired for cause in a move announced Sunday after admitting to an “inappropriate” relationship with a staffer later identified as CNBC International anchor Hadley Gamble.
“Don Lemon got fired over at CNN and then some other guy at NBC, Jeff Shell, who’s an executive, got fired,” Stern said on Tuesday’s episode of his SiriusXM radio show, as recorded by Mediaite.
“And I’m like, Jeff Shell’s so lucky, and so is Don Lemon, because Tucker Carlson getting fired on the same day you get fired — you barely make news, like no one will even notice,” Stern added. “He’s lucky.”
Co-host Robin Quivers chimed in to agree with Stern, asserting that CNN and NBC may have moved forward with their respective actions after the news about Carlson surfaced.
“You’re having the same thought I was. I thought when they heard that Tucker Carlson was fired, they said, ‘Quickly get those firings out there in the public, because it’ll be dwarfed by the Tucker Carlson,’” Quivers said.
“I’ll tell you what happened. Tucker Carlson got fired and CNN called a quick meeting, said, ‘Hey listen, let’s go fire Don Lemon,’” Stern responded. “’And let’s get rid of Jeff Shell [at NBC] too, because now is the time to get rid of everybody, ‘cause no one’s going to really make a big deal about it.’”
Fox News announced Monday morning that it had “agreed to part ways” with Carlson, who had hosted the network’s 8 p.m. time slot. Fox News is a subsidiary of Fox Corp., the sister company of The Post’s corporate parent, News Corp.
While the media world was still reacting to Carlson’s ouster, CNN announced that Lemon had been fired following several high-profile incidents, including widely criticized sexist remarks about GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Lemon claimed to have been “stunned” by the news and said CNN’s top brass never contacted him directly — an allegation that prompted a fiery denial by the network.
Shell’s shocking dismissal was first announced on Sunday, before Carlson’s exit, with NBCUniversal parent Comcast stating he was terminated after an investigation “led by outside counsel into a complaint of inappropriate conduct.”
An attorney for CNBC International’s Gamble later confirmed on Monday that her client had filed a complaint accusing Shell of sexual harassment and sex discrimination. Gamble’s involvement had first surfaced in a Deadlne.com report the previous day.