Don Lemon Unfiltered: The Best of Maury’s One-on-One Interview Highlights

0:00The first time in my life that I've ever been fired. Did you know that at the time? My colleagues and the New York Times were told before I was. From his years anchoring prime time at CNN to becoming one of the most recognizable voices in news? You're ruined. You're not fake. You're not a phony. And they can tell. And they can tell. So let's go back to that day then at CNN when you are no longer. And they tell you we don't have a place for you anymore. Yeah. Don. Yeah. Is that the first time you've ever been fired? Is the first time in my life that I've ever been fired. Did you like me? Always fear being fired? I never feared being fired. I mean, actually, you know, it was I wish that my exit could have been different. I think that the network could have been a bit more graceful. But it was during a time that there was so much turmoil at the network. And it was honestly almost a relief that had happened. And, you know, did you know that at the time? I had, you know, it's weird when I got the call from my agent.

1:03I had just gotten back from work up from doing the, it was anchoring the morning show then and hadn't been home that long. And I think I'd taken a nap. I don't remember exactly. But he called me and he said, hey, you're getting fired. And I was like, aha, joke. I thought he was joking. And then he said, no, I'm not. And he said, and it's already been leaked to the New York Times. And I said, leaked. No one is leaking to the New York Times. Someone is calling the New York Times and giving them and told them. So I was told my colleagues and the New York Times were told before I was. And so I did not, but the weird thing is when he told me and after we started getting into it, there was a sense of relief. Like, you know, I don't have to deal with that anymore. You know, if they wanted to get rid of me, all they had to do was say, what you said, we don't have a place for you anymore. You don't have to try to destroy my reputation by planning stories about me. You don't have to do any of the, you don't have to put me in, you know, in roles that are not suited to my talent. You don't have to do any of those things. Yeah, I knew that you were in trouble when they took you off the prime time show.

2:06Well, yes, they took me, not necessarily took me off. They asked me. They offered me a better deal. And then, you know, what transpired, but you knew once they moved me, that things were, yeah. One time I was doing a new show round, I don't know, I used to do the early news in Chicago. And then they wanted me to do the new news. And I said, no, I'm in, no. How did you get so many viewers so fast? I want more. I feel like it's not fast enough. I just, you have to, you have to have a personal relationship with your, with what you're doing. I'll tell you what, when I first started, I started, you know, my show was supposed to be three days a week doing interviews, and which is great. You know, it's great to have that, that kind of schedule. But then one day I said, you know, it just feels like what I was doing in cable had no interaction with my audience, right? It was just sort of sitting there and just talking.

3:08And I said, I'm, every day, I'm just going to do a show live at five every day in my living room. And it took off. I just started talking to people, reading the comments that came up on the screen, or that was in the chat, asking them what they wanted to talk about. Do you like me here? Do you like me in the fancy studio that I have? And everybody's like, we like you, sitting in front of the fireplace in your living room. So in a way, you've been liberated. You know, it's just another way of broadcasting. It's, again, it's evolution. From radio, radio into television, right? And you went to, just like your evolution, you started as a news person. And then you stood, and then you started doing a current affair, which is more sort of entertainment news ahead. And that's, that was popular. And then you, and then you did a talk show. Right. You've been doing this sort of reinvention for a while. And that's, but in order to, to remain relevant, and if you want to stand this business, you can, everyone has to do that. I mean, all you have to do out there is understand this statistic, 86% of Americans get their news on their phone.

4:12Yeah. That's it. The area, that's it. And you know what I said, when you asked me how many, you know, why, why did I get so many viewers so fast? I realized I want to go where the audience is. So the audience is, you know, on the phone that's sitting on the table right there. I can, I'm on, I'm in everybody's pocket. Yeah. And so if I want to do a story, if I want to put my show, I stream my show on just about every social media site, people can just tune in and watch. And people watch all the time. People tell me, I sit in my office with you. I do two live shows now. I do one at 10 a.m. 10 a.m. 10 a.m. now five weekdays. And now five p.m. Eastern weekdays on YouTube. It also streams on, on Twitch. It streams on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. And then later it's put on I Heart Apple and Spotify. And so I'm kind of everywhere. You can't help, you can't help, but you can't avoid me because I'm everywhere. I got to watch the rise of Barack Obama, who was the state senator. Oh, it's a time. Sure. Yeah. And then you follow, yeah. Yeah. And then I was the anchor. As you know, you go to these events and it's, you know, these chicken dinners or fundraisers and you're like, you know, you're the MC.

5:20Right. And I got to introduce Barack Obama and his wife a lot. And so I got to know them a bit. And then all of a sudden he becomes a president. Could you tell he was on his way? Um, I thought he was a very talented and likable politician. He was good on his feet. He was very good on his feet, but you know, his wife was better. That's what a lot of people say. His wife was better, you know, no shade Barack Obama, Mr. President. But I remember the first thing event that I covered with him. We were at Navy Pier under a big tent or something, you know, one of the big rooms or tents or out sort of outdoor outdoor spaces there. And someone passed out. A lady, you know, got overheated. And he's just sort of kept talking and he's like, oh, and then she poof. She, she went up to the microphone and to the podium and said, hold on, Barack. Let's take care of this lady and he stopped and she's like, oh, yeah. And I said, uh, now I see what's going on. And that was my first introduction of Barack Obama.

6:20So I remember you start at WNYW as a kid with Brooklyn College. Yes, that's when that's when I knew you. I started at WMACU. I left Baton Rouge, Louisiana because my journalism, I left LSU. My journalism teacher told me I'd never make it as a journalist. And I said, I have to get, if I want to achieve what I want to achieve, I have to get out of here. So I left. I took a job at WMACU as not even a news assistant. It was a trainee in the newsroom. Oh, sure. $5 an hour below the poverty level. Right. I rented a room, a sublet of room and someone's back, someone's back room in Astoria Queens. And I started working there and then I eventually became a news assistant and then a desk assistant. And then, um, a field producer, satellite speed, satellite feeds coordinator, a writer for John Roland. John Roland. And Coran Mojolick, um, and Rosanna Scatto and Lynn Brown. You know all those folks. Channel five. Yeah. And then I became the assignment editor. And so when I became the assignment editor, all of the crews, what, you know, they were up to me.

7:23Do you take a lunch? Do you go home early? You know, who, who gets the plum assignment? And so, um, I kind of trade for, you know, you do a stand-up for me so I could put my tape together. Wow. And so I put my tape together and, um, I started sending it out. It's amazing back then. I know, but that's what you had to do. Everybody had to have a tape. I had to have a tape. Couldn't get anywhere without a tape. Right. You need it real. You need it real. You had to do it, right? So I sent it out. Um, and then, uh, Lisa Gorgoris, who worked for, uh, Gachi eventually worked for, um, hard copy or something like that. I remember her. Yes. And she put me on the air. For hard copy. She let me do reports and Bill McCrory would put me on the air. I'll bill. It's great. And then, um, bill was great. Birmingham came a calling because that's when the stations that we worked for, the Fox stations. Sure. They started buying stations all over the country. I went as a weekend anchor to Birmingham, Alabama. I was there for 11 months and I went to St. Louis, Missouri. I was there for a year and a half and then Philadelphia was there for a year. Get your stripes. And I went to the network as a network correspondent for NBC News.

8:25Oh, you did. And then to Chicago and then Atlanta for CNN and then New York CNN and now New York me. Believe it or not, I mean, I've never, I've never understood why I've had a connection all these years with people who come on the show and people who watch the show. But the African American community has kind of taken me into their hearts. Because you're a real one. That's what we call a real one. Because you, you, there's no judge, there's no judgment. And your show would not have been successful if it wasn't authentic. People authentically like you. Exactly. Yeah. And so even though there's no way I've had the experiences that my guests have had. Right. White or black doesn't matter to me. Right. But there's some kind, they felt that they could unburden themselves that I gave them a safe space and that I was kind of a member of the family. You're a real one. You're not fake. You're not a phony. And they can tell. And they can tell. You can tell when people are authentic.

9:26I think people who are authentic are always successful on television. You may, you know, and even if people who are just sort of themselves. Now, I don't know they may not be nice people in real life or behind the scenes or how they treat their staff. But for all the people who I've known who've been successful on television have been authentic and unusual, not perfect. Perfection is boring. And by the way, those are the people who are successful. Yeah. I mean, and relatable. But you don't have that now, Maureen. You don't know. It's everyone's so antiseptic now. Really? Yeah. I don't even watch it anymore because everyone is just so sort of generic and they're afraid to say everything. Anything. And, you know, I liked it when Katie Kirk would burp on the air and go, sorry. Yeah. And I liked Barbara Walters' accent. It's why in the beginning, why Oprah was so successful because she showed her vulnerability. She showed her vulnerability. She was a lady who wasn't, you know, she wasn't a size two twig. She was just a normal American lady, a black woman who was, you know, just smart and talented.

10:30And revealing. And revealing. Yeah. Yeah. But see, but you have that. Not everybody has that. So congratulations. You couldn't understand. You know, I just, you know, you know, and you're and it was good TV. Come on, Maureen. It was great to you. It was great to you. It was great to you. It was either it was because it was entertaining or the fat, a lot of people would watch it because there, but for the grace of God, go on. Go on. Yeah. In the case of On Power Off the Rails, Don Lemon, do you think politicians using TikTok filters during press conferences, On Power Off the Rails? Filters. Yes. Off the Rails. Okay. Good. Cable news anchors doing brand deals on Instagram. Cable news anchors? Yes. Off the Rails. Okay. Now it's different if you're in streaming. The cable news anchor. No, I don't. Anyways, no. Off the Rails. But by the way, would you take money from a liberal conservative, whatever nonprofit?

11:34It would depend. Why would you take money? No, no. It would depend on what they're doing. If you're asking me, there's someone who advertises on my channel, I won't say who it is, but they're looking out for women's rights and women's reproductive rights. Yes. Of course, because I believe in that. Yeah. I believe in that. But you would do it with a liberal conservative think tank. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, that's a whole different thing. Okay. Political pundits dropping a fragrance line called breaking news. It's kind of funny. I kind of like it. I may steal that. That's off the rails. That's off the rails. Why am I so tired of cable stuff? And now even streaming. Breaking news. Breaking news. Everything was breaking news. And it wasn't breaking news. It was just, please stay with us. Yeah. Well, you know what we do? We have a thumbnail every day for our show. And I was like, just put breaking news up there because, but we're making fun of it. But still we put a breaking. Well, that's what we do.

12:34But we do like big breaking news. All right. Major crazy breaking news to make fun of it. Yeah. Very good. Do you think truth or drink night at the White House Correspondence dinner? Oh, I think that's on par. I like. Okay. Good. And finally, influencers crying in Teslas about being shadow banned. Off the rails. No, no, no. I mean, one asked you this forever, can you teach me how to say you're not the father? How do I say it? So when I opened the envelope, I was surprised as anybody. So this is how I would say it. You are not the father. You are not the father. Is that it? That's it. You got it. So it's not you're not the father. You are not the father. Now, or then you are the father. Woo! This next video features the moment with Adam Friedland that almost cost me my friendship with Tony Coinheiser.

13:36Click right here over my shoulder to get the full story.