Don Lemon has been arrested, but his YouTube channel continues to stream
Don Lemon is currently unable to host “The Don Lemon Show,” but that doesn’t mean the program has gone quiet.
A group of prominent creators, influencers and media figures kept Lemon’s YouTube channel active on Friday, asking viewers who call themselves ‘Lemon Heads’ to support the journalist after he was arrested and charged with federal civil rights crimes after attempting to livestream a protest at a church service in Minnesota earlier in January. Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles and is expected to appear in court Friday afternoon. Others were arrested Friday on similar charges, including Minnesota journalist Georgia Fort.
“We can’t be afraid,” said Katie Phang, who hosted an hour-long “The Don Lemon Show” Friday afternoon as she urged viewers to subscribe to Lemon’s media properties. The former MSNBC opinion host, who now operates her own independent media outlet, spoke with Tim Miller of The Bulwark, among others. “This is definitely a moment.”
A single chyron remained unchanged at the bottom of the screen: “Breaking: Don Lemon Arrested.”
Lemon’s YouTube channel reported his arrest as of 10 a.m., according to a person familiar with the matter. Among those who performed were comedian DL Hughley, Joy Reid, Wajahat Ali, Jim Acosta, Anthony Scaramucci and Olivia Troye.
Since leaving CNN in 2023, Lemon has focused most of his efforts on running an independent media operation, operating on YouTube, Tik Tok and Instagram, connecting it with both newsmakers and people on the street. “It’s not often that you get to this stage of your life and you’re reinventing yourself and learning new things,” Lemon shared. Variety earlier in January. The departure “forced me” to change, and as a result, he adds, “I feel younger and more part of the culture and the spirit of the times than when” he worked at the newscast.
Lemon was in Los Angeles to do some work for the Grammys, part of a strategy he’s been following around live events. He recently did a New Year’s Eve show from New Orleans, a reboot of the work he used to do for CNN, after Anderson Cooper reported from Times Square. He wasn’t entirely sure he could pull the whole thing off. He hired the production crew and camera crew and had to ensure that the event space had the right connectivity that would remain intact throughout the day. He also had to make sure his reporting had a sponsor, and his team lined up Don Julio tequila.
Since Lemon’s arrest was announced Friday morning, there has been a groundswell of support, with CNN and others expressing their dismay.
“The federal government’s prosecution of journalists for their reporting is deeply troubling, made even more so by its continued pursuit of these charges after a magistrate refused to sign the arrest warrant and over reported objections from career prosecutors,” the ACLU said in a statement. “This will send a chilling message to other journalists covering the government’s actions, and must be understood in the context of the government’s broader crackdown on press freedom.”
