CNN

Don Lemon is not saying never about returning to CNN -- which fired him last year -- and even has some requirements in mind, but he's also very realistic about why it ain't happening ... most likely.

The famed newsman joined us on the "TMZ Podcast" this week, and revealed he'd be open to going back to his former employer if they offered a particular company car -- one more associated with Elon Musk, ironically.

We're confident he was joking, but Don was serious about not holding his breath for a call from CNN. He says there's no bad blood between them, but also explained why it's probably not a great fit, for him at least.

Aaron Rodgers is attempting to clear up his position on Sandy Hook, a day after a scathing report claimed the superstar QB denied the horrific shooting ever happened, saying that's simply not true, calling it "an absolute tragedy."

"As I’m on the record saying in the past, what happened in Sandy Hook was an absolute tragedy. I am not and have never been of the opinion that the events did not take place," 40-year-old Rodgers tweeted from Costa Rica.

"Again, I hope that we learn from this and other tragedies to identify the signs that will allow us to prevent unnecessary loss of life. My thoughts and prayers continue to remain with the families affected along with the entire Sandy Hook community."

The statement comes after CNN published a report on Wednesday citing two people who claimed AR was adamant the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT was fake, attributing the following quote to the 4x NFL MVP.

"All those children never existed. They were all actors.”

Rodgers tweet seems to directly contradict the CNN story ... but not all of it. The network also reported Aaron believes, or at least did in 2013, that the shooting was an "inside job" perpetrated by the United States government.

The Jets signal-callers message does not address whether he ever claimed the shooting was an inside job.

Don Lemon volvió a la cadena que lo despidió para hablar de su entrevista con Elon Musk que le hizo perder su acuerdo con X e incluso emitió algunos clips de la conversación.

El ex presentador de noticias fue presentado como invitado de Erin Burnett en CNN el miércoles, donde hablaron sobre la entrevista que hicieron con Elon y que luego provocó que este terminara el acuerdo de su compañía con Don para presentar y distribuir su nuevo programa con ellos.

Obviamente, todos tienen curiosidad de qué fue lo que cabreó tanto a Elon exactamente y ahora, tenemos una idea de lo que podría haber sido porque CNN emitió 3 extractos.

El primer clip muestra a Don compartiendo estadísticas sobre el aumento del discurso de odio en X e incluso abordó el tema de la Gran Teoría de Reemplazo, que abrazan los supremacistas blancos y de la que Elon ha sido acusado por tolerar en su plataforma.

Se puede decir de inmediato que Elon estaba molesto por el interrogatorio e incluso dejó a Don saber que no tiene que responderle a nadie, señalando que solo accedió a conversar con él porque era parte de la familia X, y Don pidió una entrevista.

Fue una interacción bien fría, y sobre ella, Don le dijo a Erin que no cree que Elon esté dispuesto a aceptar los hechos y que siente que no tiene que responderle a nadie o asumir la responsabilidad por lo que se publica en X. Los clips no terminaron allí, sin embargo ..

En otro clip Don le pregunta a Elon sobre su consumo de ketamina, algo que Elon ha admitido y aunque este tema no era tan incómodo, se puede decir que era algo personal para. Básicamente, dijo que si la gente está deprimida, deberían investigarlo.

También hablaron de política y Elon dijo que no estaba listo para apoyar a ningún candidato, aunque dijo que se inclinaba por Biden. Señaló que él y Trump habían hablado recientemente en Mar-a-Lago y dijo que no le había donado a Donald Trump en absoluto.

Cuento corto, Don volvió a la boca del lobo para transmitir estos clips y es bastante irónico, teniendo en cuenta que le dieron una patada para priorizar un liderazgo diferente.

Don Lemon went back to the network that fired him to talk about his Elon Musk interview that made him lose out on his deal with X ... and he even aired some clips from their chat.

The former news anchor was featured as Erin Burnett's guest on CNN Wednesday, where they spoke about this sit-down Don did with Elon just yesterday -- which then triggered Elon to terminate his company's deal with Don to host and distribute his new show with them.

Obviously, everyone has been curious about what exactly was said that pissed EM off so much -- and now, we have a sense of what it might've been ... 'cause CNN aired 3 excerpts.

The first clip they played showed Don rattling off stats about an uptick in hate speech on X -- and DL even entertained the topic of the Great Replacement Theory, embraced by white supremacists ... which Elon's been accused of entertaining and tolerating on his platform.

You could tell right off the bat that Elon was annoyed by the line of questioning -- and he even let Don know, he doesn't have to answer anyone's questions ... noting he only agreed to chat with Don because he was now part of the X family, and Don asked for an interview.

It was an icy interaction ... and Don goes on to tell Erin he doesn't think Elon is willing to accept facts -- going on to say he feels like Elon doesn't have to answer to anyone or take accountability for what's posted on X. The clips didn't end there, though ... there was more.

Another clip aired where Don asked Elon about his ketamine use -- something Elon has admitted to -- and while that topic wasn't nearly as awkward ... you can tell it was somewhat personal for Elon. He basically said if people are depressed, they should look into it.

They also talked politics at one point ... and Elon said he wasn't ready to endorse any candidate just yet -- although he did say he was leaning away from Biden. He noted he and Trump had recently spoken at Mar-a-Lago ... and said he hadn't donated to DT at all.

Long story short ... Don went back into the lion's den to air these clips -- which is pretty ironic, considering they kicked him to the curb, albeit under different leadership.

Don Lemon ha cancelado su acuerdo con X antes de que se emitiera el primer episodio, y culpa a su entrevista con Elon Musk, en la que aparentemente tocó un punto delicado.

El ex presentador de CNN anunció el miércoles en redes sociales el fin de su acuerdo exclusivo con la plataforma de Elon Musk, tanto a través de una declaración escrita como en un breve video que irónicamente publicó en X.

Don explica que se sentó con Elon el viernes para entrevistarlo en el primer episodio de "The Don Lemon Show", diciendo que quería tener a Musk como su primer invitado, porque Elon se considera un gran defensor de la libertad de expresión.

Don dijo que la entrevista no tenía temas fuera de límite, y aunque Don admite que la conversación se puso tensa a ratos, en última instancia dice que las cosas salieron bien.

Sin embargo, parece que Musk no se sentía de la misma manera, y afirma que su acuerdo con X -acordado hace apenas dos meses- se terminó apenas unas horas después de su entrevista.

Lemon le dijo a sus fans que trabajó con X porque es un creyente en la libertad de expresión y quería que su mensaje llegara a un público masivo, y ser "despedido" de X no impide que el ex presentador de CNN lo transmita en la plataforma y en otros lugares.

Lemon dice que todavía piensa publicar la entrevista el lunes 18 de marzo en YouTube y X, lo que podría tomarse como una afrenta hacia Elon. También va a seguir con el programa sin el respaldo de X, así que "The Don Lemon Show" sigue en pie.

En cuanto a lo que exactamente discutieron, no sabemos mucho, pero los informes sugieren que Don hizo algunas preguntas contundentes, incluyendo preguntas sobre el uso de Musk de la ketamina.

Aparentemente, Lemon todavía piensa que X le debe dinero, con un portavoz de Don diciéndole al sitio de noticias Puck, que está dispuesto a ir a los tribunales por el dinero que cree que le deben.

Por su parte, X dice que su plataforma apoya la libertad de expresión, y Don puede publicar libremente lo que quiera, pero X, por otra parte, sigue siendo un negocio y puede optar por iniciar o terminar asociaciones con empresas como mejor le parezca.

En cuanto a Elon... le respondió a una cuenta de parodia de Mark Zuckerberg en X y afirmó que Don todavía estaba haciendo sus trucos de CNN en X y dijo que sentía que solo estaba repitiendo los mismos pasos que su antiguo jefe en la red, Jeff Zucker. Elon también dice que sentía Don no estaba siendo auténtico... y parecer esto fue suficiente para desechar el acuerdo.

Don Lemon's X partnership is dunzo -- his deal falling apart before the first episode could even air ... and he blames his Elon Musk interview, where he apparently struck a nerve.

The former CNN anchor took to social media Wednesday to announce the end of his exclusive deal with Elon's platform -- both via written statement and in a short video he posted to X, ironically enough.

The way Don explains it ... he sat down with Elon Friday to interview him for the first episode of "The Don Lemon Show," saying he wanted to speak with Musk as his debut guest because Elon considers himself a major proponent of free speech.

Don said the interview had no off-limit topics, and -- even though DL admits the convo got tense at times ... ultimately, he says he felt it was a good, fair back-and-forth.

However, it sounds like Musk didn't feel the same way according to Lemon ... who claims his deal with X -- agreed upon just two months ago -- was terminated mere hours after their interview wrapped.

Lemon told his fans he worked with X because he's a believer in free speech and wanted his message to reach a mass audience ... and, getting "fired" from X ain't stopping the former CNN anchor from airing it on the platform and elsewhere.

Lemon says he's still dropping the interview in all its glory Monday, March 18 on YouTube and X as well -- seemingly a big middle finger to EM and co. He's also gonna carry on with the show without X's backing ... so, the "The Don Lemon Show" is still on.

As for exactly what the two discussed ... we don't know much, but reports are floating around Don asked some hard-hitting questions -- including queries about Musk's use of ketamine.

BTW ... Lemon apparently still thinks X owes him money -- with a spokesperson for Don telling news site Puck he's willing to go to court for the cash he believes is owed ... to be continued, we suppose.

For their part, X is saying their platform is all about free speech, and Don can freely post whatever he wants ... but also X is still a business and can choose to begin or end partnerships with businesses as it sees fit.

As for Elon ... he responded to a Mark Zuckerberg parody account on X -- and claimed Don was still doing his CNN shtick, just on X -- and he said he felt Don was just parroting his old boss at the network, Jeff Zucker. EM also says he felt Don was putting on an act and not being his authentic self ... which was apparently enough for him to scrap their deal.

Don Lemon was handsomely compensated after being fired from CNN last year -- in fact, it's almost as if he never left ... 'cause the dude's definitely getting paid like it, per a new report.

According to the Wrap, the former CNN anchor finally reached a deal with his former bosses at the cable news network to finalize his separation from the company -- this after he was canned almost a full year ago.

Apparently, they'd been working out the details of his exit package -- and now, word is they finally landed on a number ... which is astronomical. The Wrap says he got $24.5 million.

What's astonishing about that figure is that, per the outlet, this amount of cash is exactly what he would've been paid if he'd been allowed to stay there and finish out his contract -- which they say had another 3.5 half years left on it before his ousting in April.

In other words, he got his full contract's worth of money ... so good on his negotiating team.

Weirdly enough, though, CNN is actually pushing back on the number ... telling People the report of his massive payout is "incorrect." With that said, they didn't elaborate beyond that.

In any case ... it sounds like Don's walking away from this saga a happy camper. Yes, he's no longer on TV -- but he's moved on over to X for a new show, similar to Tucker Carlson.

While he was fuming after getting the boot at CNN, Don ended up with the last laugh ... the guy who fired him, Chris Licht, ended up being shown the door as well not long after. Meanwhile, Don's millions of dollars richer ... and he's in the free speech space now.

Nikki Haley is digging a deeper hole for herself as she continues her apology tour to rectify her comments on the Civil War -- because she's playing the ol' "Black friends" card.

She was asked about her thoughts over the backlash to her blunder during CNN's town hall in Des Moines Thursday night ... the Republican presidential hopeful told host Erin Burnett she should've said slavery was a catalyst for the Civil War straight off the bat.

Nikki elaborated, though, saying she believed the slavery part of it was obvious to her, because South Carolinians grow up talking about the topic -- and not-so-subtly slipped in the line, "I had Black friends growing up ... it is a very talked about thing."

She emphasized that she's always associated the Civil War with slavery ... and with her response, she was merely trying to highlight the lesson learned going forward.

The controversy kicked off Dec 27 at a campaign stop in Berlin, NH, when Haley left out the fact that slavery triggered the bloody conflict between the Union and the Confederacy in the 1800s.

Haley was criticized by the media and pretty much everyone else -- including ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon who blasted her apology tour, saying she didn't show him any grace when he said she was past her prime during a live TV broadcast.

John Mayer destroyed Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on CNN's New Year's Eve show ... turning them into laughing hyenas as cat butts populated his side of the screen!

John joined the 2 best friends on the broadcast from a cat cafe in Tokyo. JM never made clear why alcohol mixes with felines, but even if he did it would not have made a difference.

Anderson couldn't hold it together, as John used his deadpan humor at the Cats in the Box Cafe to render the 2 hosts unable to carry on a convo.

Maybe part of the reason is that CNN seems to have changed its "no drinking" policy because the 2 ACs were taking some pretty serious shots every hour.

Don Lemon hasn't forgotten about his clash with Nikki Haley earlier this year ... bringing it up as a way to diss her over fumbling a question about the cause of the Civil War.

The former CNN anchor is ripping Nikki for asking for grace for omitting slavery from her answer ... he says she was quick to pounce on him when he called her past "her prime" earlier this year on CNN, and didn't leave him room to ask for grace.

As you know ... Nikki is catching tons of flak for not mentioning slavery as a catalyst for the Civil War in response to a question on the presidential campaign trail.

Nikki's since backtracked, telling CNN she didn't mention slavery because she thought it was so obvious.

Don says he's glad she's clarified her remarks ... adding, "In the spirit of the season, let's see if her actions match her corrected words moving forward."

A Catholic priest came on CNN on Christmas to say Jesus was a persecuted Palestinian -- and that the story of his birth contains parallels to what's going on in the Middle East.

Father Edward Beck -- a regular contributor -- joined Monday morning's anchors to discuss the topic of how to keep faith alive this holiday season with everything going on in the world ... namely, the war between Israel and Hamas, with Palestinians caught in the middle.

He said the story of Xmas was actually one of a "Palestinian Jew" -- noting how extraordinary it is to hear those 2 words put together. Father Beck went on to say JC was born into an occupied country, and that his mother and father (Mary/Joseph) were forced to flee into Egypt as refugees ... which is technically correct, as far as the Bible's concerned.

Beck went on to say the same sort of thing is going on right now in 2023 -- and while he didn't outright come out as explicitly pro-Palestine ... that's how his remarks were perceived.

In fact, there's a lot of handwringing happening online over the suggestion that Jesus was Palestinian ... and that he might've identified more so with the current Palestinian plight over that of Israelis. As many have pointed out online, Palestine didn't even exist back then.

On the flip side, neither did the state of Israel as we currently know it ... but the one thing that's undeniable is that JC was Jewish, for whatever's that worth in this raging debate.

Father Beck has defended what he said in some back-and-forths online. Again, some took his words here to imply that Jesus was more so Palestinian/Arab than he was Jewish -- but Beck says his words are being twisted, and his larger message of peace/unity overshadowed.

He's also posted articles that reference the use of the word "Palestinian" historically -- and how it's apparently been employed to identify Muslims, Jews and others who've lived in that region dating back millennia. In other words, Father Beck's doubling down on the notion Jesus was Palestinian ... and that him also being Jewish doesn't necessarily contradict that.

Los cinéfilos han debatido durante años si "Duro De Matar" es una película navideña o no, pero ahora un experto en la materia lo aclara de una vez por todas... y dice que sí.

Jake Tapper, de la CNN, presentó al historiador de cine y autor Jeremy Arnold en su programa el otro día, y estaban allí para discutir su nuevo libro, "Christmas in the Movies" y, finalmente, Jake se refirió a la vieja pregunta: ¿es "Duro de Matar" realmente un clásico navideño?

Según Arnold, sí que lo es... pero también explica que la razón por la que algunos creen que no lo es tiene que ver con cómo se definen las películas navideñas, tradicionalmente hablando.

A pesar de ello, Arnold argumenta que "Duro De Matar" tiene todos los ingredientes de una película navideña desde el principio, empezando por el hecho de que John McClain de Bruce Willis intenta reconciliarse con su esposa, de la que está separado, y que acaba siendo el telón de fondo de todo lo que viene después.

Tapper está de acuerdo, y señala más pruebas de que la cinta suena indudablemente a Navidad, a pesar de ser obviamente una película de acción. De hecho, señala el clímax para demostrar su punto de vista. Alerta de spoiler... utiliza regalos para matar al terrorista malo, Hans.

Todo esto para decir que "Duro De Matar" tiene todos los adornos de la Navidad, aunque incrustados en un montón de violencia y frases estilosas a través de un walkie-talkie. Por supuesto, algunos todavía piensan de manera diferente.

Film buffs have debated whether 'Die Hard' is a Christmas movie or not for years -- but now, a guy who's very familiar with the art is settling it once and for all ... and he says, yea.

CNN's Jake Tapper featured film historian and author Jeremy Arnold on his show the other day, and they were there to discuss his new book -- 'Christmas in the Movies' -- and eventually JT landed on the age-old question ... is 'DH' actually a holiday classic???

According to Arnold, it absolutely is ... but he also explains that the reason some feel it isn't has to do with how they define Xmas movies, traditionally speaking.

Despite that, though, Arnold argues 'Die Hard' has all the tenets of a Christmas movie from the jump -- starting with the fact that Bruce Willis' John McClain is attempting to reconcile with his estranged wife ... that ends up being the backdrop of everything else that follows.

Tapper agrees, and he points to more evidence that 'DH' undoubtedly rings of Xmas throughout -- even though it's obviously an action flick. He actually points to the climax to make his point. Spoiler alert ... he uses presents to kill the bad guy terrorist, Hans.

All this is to say ... 'Die Hard' has all the trappings of Christmas, albeit embedded in a lot of violence and cool lines through a walkie-talkie. Of course, some still feel differently.

The sounds of Hamas hostage-taking came to life in horrifying focus, when the father of two of the victims played audio of the moment his children were taken.

CNN's Erin Burnett spoke with Ilan Regev, who had recorded a call he had with his 21-year-old daughter, Maya, just as Hamas terrorists zeroed in on them during the October 7th attack.

Maya and her 18-year-old brother, were at the music festival when gunfire erupted. You hear her scream, "Dad, they shot me. They shot me. He is killing us. Dad, he is killing us."

Ilan tells his daughter to hide, assuring her that he's coming to get her. He jumped in his car, but when he arrived on scene, he was prohibited from entering.

Los sonidos de la toma de rehenes por Hamás cobraron vida en un espeluznante momento, cuando el padre de dos de las víctimas reprodujo el audio del momento en que sus hijos fueron secuestrados.

Erin Burnett, de CNN, habló con Ilan Regev, que había grabado una llamada que mantuvo con su hija de 21 años, Maya, justo en el momento en que los terroristas de Hamás les apuntaban durante el ataque del 7 de octubre.

Maya y su hermano de 18 años, estaban en el festival de música cuando estalló el tiroteo. Se le oye gritar: "Papá, me han disparado. Me han disparado. Nos están matando. Papá, nos están matando".

Ilan le dice a su hija que se esconda, asegurándole que viene a buscarla. Saltó en su coche, pero cuando llegó a la escena, se le prohibió la entrada.