Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav reportedly despatched fired CNN anchor Don Lemon a $1,600 bottle of wine as a peace providing whereas they each dined at a steakhouse in Manhattan.
Lemon, who was dumped by CNN final yr after a string of high-profile on-air and behind-the-scenes incidents that alienated viewers and colleagues, acquired a bottle of 2017 Opus One Cabernet mix as he ate with husband Tim Malone at Porter Home close to Columbus Circle final month, based on Puck Information.
Zaslav, CEO of CNN’s company guardian, was on the similar restaurant on a double date together with his spouse, Pam Zaslav, and billionaire non-public fairness mogul David Rubenstein and his partner, Caryn Zucker, Puck News reported.
Caryn Zucker is the ex-wife of Jeff Zucker, the former CNN president who resigned after it was revealed that he had been carrying on a long-term relationship with a prime subordinate.
Lemon, who reportedly received $24.5 million in a separation agreement with CNN, was reportedly touched by Zaslav’s gesture — a lot in order that he stood up and approached their desk for a chat, based on Puck Information.
The 2 males had beforehand ran into one another at Barney Greengrass, a well-known Higher West Aspect Jewish deli. Zaslav and Lemon exchanged “bland pleasantries,” Puck Information reported.
Final April, Lemon’s tenure at CNN ended after 17 years on the community throughout which he reportedly alienated colleagues and administration together with his antics and feedback.
In December 2022, Lemon, a former prime time host who was demoted to co-anchor the weekday morning present with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, was rebuked by his co-hosts for saying that girls’s soccer is much less fascinating than males’s soccer.
In February of final yr, The Post reported that Lemon flew into a rage and screamed at Collins off the air and in entrance of colleague for interrupting him on the air.
Collins was so shaken by the incident that she ran out of the studio, sources advised The Submit.
Days after the incident, Lemon prompted one other stir when he mentioned on the air that Nikki Haley, the 51-year-old GOP presidential candidate, was “not in her prime.” The following backlash prompted the community to droop Lemon.
Lemon additionally reportedly ignored directions from producers throughout a tense April interview with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who mentioned that African People received equal rights within the US with assist from the Nationwide Rifle Affiliation.
Days after the interview, Lemon was fired.
He has since resurfaced together with his personal present, which was initially slated to be streamed solely on X.
However Lemon’s exorbitant demands for a Tesla Cybertruck, tens of millions of {dollars} upfront in addition to the facility to have ultimate approval over X’s information content material alienated executives on the social media firm, who terminated talks after a contentious debut interview with X proprietor Elon Musk.
Zaslav may definitely afford to choose up the tab for costly wine. Final yr, he was paid $49.7 million as a part of his compensation bundle from Warner Bros. Discovery — this even if the corporate’s inventory hit an all-time low earlier this week.
The selloff of WBD inventory was prompted by studies that NBCUniversal was seeking to make an aggressive bid to win the printed rights for Nationwide Basketball Affiliation video games — a priceless tv property that has had a house at WBD-owned Turner Sports activities for many years.
WBD inventory bounced again on Thursday, surging by greater than 3% as of two p.m. Jap time. It was promoting at round $7.90 a share.
The inventory has misplaced round 70% of its worth because it started buying and selling on Wall Road in April 2022 upon the completion of the merger between WarnerMedia, which was spun off by AT&T, and Discovery.
Zaslav, who has a mandate to chop prices at debt-ridden WBD, has beforehand mentioned that his firm doesn’t “must have the NBA,” however Wall Road observers begged to vary.
NBCUniversal is ready to supply a median of $2.5 billion a yr for the rights to air NBA video games, based on The Wall Road Journal.
Dropping the NBA may make it way more troublesome for WBD to cost cable and streaming distributors the carriage charges that it needs.
