Don Lemon was seen knocking on New York City subway windows and showing commuters strange photos on his phone in a bizarre social media stunt.
The former CNN host posted a 15-second clip to his 1.2 million TikTok followers where he tried to get the attention of unsuspecting straphangers at the Times Square-42nd Street station on Thursday,
After getting their attention, Lemon, 58, showed them odd photos from his iPhone — the first appears to be the donkey from the film franchise “Shrek” spliced with Sonic the Hedgehog, and the other a blue-tinted photo of Lemon himself.
At one point, the television journalist is even seen briefly chasing after a subway car as it pulls away from the station, still holding up his phone, making sure the passenger took a proper gaze at the pic.
Lemon, who got a kick out of the innocent stunt and was laughing throughout the video, raised some concern with a few of his followers over his behavior.
“Let me find out don lemon is a menace,” wrote one user.
“What is this, is this supposed to be funny???” another commented.
“Don Lemon leave me alone I’m just trying to go to work,” another joked.
“lmaooooo Don why you bothering them people?!” another asked.
However, some noted how happy Lemon seemed in the post-CNN phase of life after he was fired from the network in April 2023.
“He seems more happy since leaving CNN…” one user commented
“Don after CNN has been amazing,” another wrote.
“Don Lemon with no job is the best thing that’s happened to me this year,” one follower said.
The TikTok has been viewed over 160,000 times and has garnered 15,000 likes since it was posted.
Lemon had once been a primetime and later a morning CNN news anchor before the abrupt ouster that followed a slew of scandals for the anchor.
He claimed to be blindsided by the news and said he was informed he lost his job through his agent in a post on X.
“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned after 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly,” Lemon wrote.
“At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network. It is clear that there are some larger issues at play.”
However, CNN posted a rebuttal to his claims and posted that his “statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate.”
“He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
Before being let go by the network, Lemon also received criticism after saying on air that 51-year-old GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not “in her prime.”
He also came under fire for allegedly “screaming” at co-host Kaitlan Collins off-camera during an ugly incident that has left the cast and crew rattled ever since.
Following his departure from CNN, Elon Musk offered him a show on X last year, but Musk canceled the program before the show’s debut.
Musk fired Lemon hours after a testy sit-down meant to be the show’s premiere episode.
“His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying,” Musk posted on X about the firing.
The former CNN anchor sued Musk over the summer for allegedly refusing to pay him.
The former TV national news journalist has since become an independent media personality and hosts the podcast “The Don Lemon Show.”
<