Don Lemon teases departure from CNN tonight show then takes to Twitter to say he will return Monday with details of new format
Don Lemon told his viewers on Friday night that his show was ending - shocking his viewers with an unexpected statement.
'Earlier tonight I said I had an announcement, and I do,' he declared.
'It's been really, really great.
'This is the last night that we'll be CNN with Don Lemon.'
Lemon, 55, immediately explained on Twitter after his show that he was not leaving the network - and that he'll be back on Monday.
'Hey everyone. Not what you think. I'm not leaving CNN. Tune in for the handoff on Monday at 10pE and I'll explain,' he wrote.
The announcement appeared to be a tease of a new format for his show.
Don Lemon on Friday night shocked his fans by declaring that the show would be his last
He later explained, in a clip posted to Twitter: 'So I got back down to my office after the show - everybody calm down.
'I didn't say I was leaving CNN.
'I just said it was the end of an era for CNN with Don Lemon.
'I am not leaving CNN. So you will have to tune in Monday at 10 o'clock to see.
'That's it. So relax. I'm not leaving. I'm not leaving!'
Lemon had earlier tweeted a video clip of him at his desk, saying: 'Tonight I have an announcement about the show. End of an era. Shall I say that? Tune in tonight at 10 and I'll tell you what's up?'
On air, he said that it was his last night hosting CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.
His brief remarks confused his viewers, and upset his fans.
'My husband was sleep and I woke him up screaming. He was like what is wrong. I said Don is leaving,' tweeted one woman.
'So now I can get my blood pressure under control. Lord help! Don’t scare me like that.'
Another fan said: 'My Dad came running to tell me after he watched. We were concerned.'
'Dude!!!!! can’t do this to us,' laughed another, when he posted the clip explaining he was not leaving.
'Good that was scary,' said one fan.
Another tweeted a photo of her three Dachshunds looking shocked.
'What? Seriously, Don, this is very stressful. Even my three Doxies are stressed out.'
Lemon in March published a book on racism which shot to the top of best-seller lists.
Entitled This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism, he has heavily promoted the book on his show and to his 1.2 million Twitter followers.
In 2016, Lemon told Variety he would like to try something different after the Trump era.
'I would like it to be a little bit looser. I would love it to be like HBO,' he said.
'I would love to be able to say those things you never say on basic cable. I would love to be able to have those conversations the way Bill Maher does.'
Lemon was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is the son of successful civil rights attorney Wilmon Lee Richardson.
He graduated with a journalism major from Brooklyn College in 1996, and began his career working for local TV stations, before being hired by CNN in 2006.
Lemon revealed that he is gay in his 2011 autobiography, Transparent, and divides his time between Harlem and Sag Harbor with fiance Tim Malone, a real estate agent.
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