Former CNN star Don Lemon tried to reclaim the spotlight from his old employer with a rival New Year's Eve broadcast Thursday night.
Lemon's guests included his fellow ousted ex-CNN veteran Jim Acosta for an alcohol-fueled celebration.
The 59-year-old anchor's bash bore more than a passing resemblance to the annual CNN event featuring Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, but lacked the gloss of its big-budget inspiration.
The special was filmed live from New Orleans and featured the widely anticipated return of what's been come to be known as 'Drunk Don Lemon'.
Lemon - who was pushed out of CNN in 2023 - donned a sequined suit and strings of Mardi Gras beads for the occasion.
Lasting more than six hours, the stream featured guests like Acosta beaming in remotely, as Lemon mixed - and consumed - cocktails and mingled with locals.
Acosta, sipping a beverage of his own in Hawaii, told Lemon he was vacationing to get 'as far away' from Donald Trump while still ringing in the New Year in the US. Acosta - Lemon's costar for 15 years - left CNN in January, refusing 'to bow down to a tyrant'. He left after refusing to accept a graveyard slot demotion.
Reasons for Lemon's exit, meanwhile, remain more shrouded. It followed his now notorious on-air claim that women over the age of 40 were past their prime in February 2023.
The 59-year-old anchor's bash bore more than a passing resemblance to the annual CNN event featuring Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.
'Nikki Haley isn't in her prime. Sorry, when a woman is in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,' he told co-anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins at the time.
Harlow then challenged Lemon, asking him to clarify: 'Are you talking about prime for childbearing or are you talking about prime for being president?'
'Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just saying what the facts are,' Lemon shot back.
CEO Chris Licht sent out a memo two months later announcing the anchor's exit, framing it as the two parties parting ways.
In his own statement, Lemon claimed he was fired - leading CNN to refute those claims as 'inaccurate' and issue a statement saying Lemon 'was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.'
Lemon later claimed he was sexually harassed during his time at CNN, during which he was a regular on the annual New Year's Eve broadcast.
Lemon's husband Tim Malone, 41, emailed the Daily Mail on Thursday morning to tout Lemon's return to the format as a 'total success.'
'Virtual guests from around the world.' Malone, a successful realtor with Compass, wrote.
He framed the special as 'sort of a breaking free'.
Lemon's guests included his fellow CNN veteran Jim Acosta.
Lemon - and nearly all other CNN staffers - was barred from drinking on-air in 2022, after a Variety report citing unnamed CNN staffers suggested visible drunkenness from figures like Lemon was damaging the network's credibility.
'We have pictures side by side of his celebration vs cnn,' Malone mentioned in his email, noting how Lemon 'got tipsy' and 'overall had a fantastic evening.'
He was also sure to point out how Cooper and Cohen were not included in the 2022 ban, likely due to their chemistry and less erratic behavior. Cohen’s influence - combined with drinks - have helped lighten the mood of the special in recent years.
Lemon, meanwhile, got his ear pierced live on the air once the ball dropped in 2016, and was so plastered the following year in 2017, that he made Cohen and Cooper look sober by comparison.
In 2019, he mistook a reporter for an ex-girlfriend on the air.
In 2022, he embarked on an angry rant against his critics where he ranted: ‘I don’t care, I’m a grown-a man, and I don’t care what you think about me.’
‘I am to be able to share my point of view on television and it freaks people out and you know what,’ he continued. ‘You can kiss my behind, I do not care.’
Attention brought by the incidents - along with Lemon’s noticeable slurring and freewheeling - sparked the ‘Drunk Don Lemon’ nickname.
Lemon acknowledged his alter-ego’s return in a late-night post to Facebook Thursday touting the special, writing ‘Drunk Don Lemon ACTIVATED’ as it aired.
The special doubled as fundraiser for Manning Family Children's Hospital in New Orleans, which Lemon's late sister, L'Tanya 'Leisa' Lemon Grimes, used to frequent. She had scoliosis.
Lemon honored her with a dunk tank event called 'Donate to Dunk Don', after her passing last May.
Lemon, 59, was in high spirits, however, and appeared to keep his drinking under control while still enjoying himself, even introducing a 'drink counter' to the action.
The anchor previously said of his visible on-air drunkenness: 'The idea is to have fun. What can I do that's interesting and engaging for the audience?
In a Thursday interview with Tennessee's CBS affiliate WWL-TV before his special aired, Lemon appeared to take shot at his old network.
'In this day and age, it's not about the three letters or the brand or whatever. It's about the person delivering it,' he said while touting his then-yet-to-air YouTube special
'And we're in the climate now for streaming and independent media and independent journalism where people are craving it.'
As of writing, Lemon's livestream has amassed more than 320,000 views. Others to appear aside from Acosta included Luann de Lesseps, Big Freedia, Joy Reid, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Stephanie Ruhle, Tamron Hall, and Alec Baldwin.
The ratings for CNN's special - which has been hosted by Cohen and Cooper since 2017 - have yet to be released.