Fired Don Lemon, Who Promoted Jussie Smollett, Says He Never Promoted Liars

Don Lemon appeared on-air for the first time since CNN fired him in April.

On Saturday, ABC24 host Rudy Williams asked Lemon about his firing to which he touted his reluctance to "platform liars and bigots."

"I have a responsibility not only as a journalist but as an American, to tell the truth and to abide by the promises of the Constitution," said Lemon. "Because the Constitution says a more perfect union — not a perfect union. I'm not perfect. No one is."

"In order to fulfill the promise of the Constitution, we have to stand up for what is right. We have to stand up for the truth," he continued. 

Refreshing to see the same Don Lemon who platformed his pal Jussie Smollett's race hoax bragging that he never platformed a bigot or a liar.

Lemon certainly took his signature lack of self-awareness with him when CNN booted him out the door.

The reason for his ousting remains fuzzy even months later. The list of possible reasons is lengthy, leading one to conclude there was no single reason for his ousting.

Lemon is a notorious diva. Backstage reports detailed an incident in December when he berated then co-host Kaitlan Collins for speaking on set more than he preferred.

A subsequent report specified he had become a menace to producers around him.

His most viral moment of the past year came when he declared women over 40 "used goods," and as figures "no longer in their prime."

(Don Lemon is 57. And never experienced a prime.)

What's more, viewers rejected Lemon as strongly as his co-workers. In the fall, CNN demoted Don from primetime to mornings after a failed stint at night.

Lemon then set record lows in the mornings.

The reasons to employ Lemon were short. Perhaps non-existent.

That's why he's unemployed. Not due to his dedication to the Constitution, a document he often chastised on-air.

For those reasons, Lemon won't swarm to the type of market other fired hosts have. Even his former buddy Chris Cuomo quickly rebounded to a job at NewsNation after CNN ousted him.

Don Lemon doesn't have an audience, he's certainly not an intellect, and he's the exact type of liar he accuses his targets of being.