Don Lemon on What Comes Next After CNN: ‘Sitting on the Beach’

While Tucker Carlson is implying he’ll be returning to prominence soon, ex-CNN host Don Lemon is projecting he’s going to take some time off. Time magazine spoke with him at its glitzy Time 100 Gala (portions of which will air on Sunday night on ABC).

Lemon shared his plans with TIME, saying that he will be spending time sitting on the beach with his husband, Tim Malone, and “having a great summer.” “I’m going to have the summer of a 12-year-old,” he joked.

When asked what influence he had left the news corporation where he had been a longtime host for 17 years, he said: “Why don’t you ask my colleagues about that? I think they’ll probably have a good answer for you.” Does Don really think that’s the best answer after all of the diva behavior?

When asked by the show Extra if he was surprised by how it all went down in a hurry, he said “I think that my statement speaks for itself. Yeah, it was a surprise, but life goes on. That’s behind me, and we’ll see what happens in the future.” You can’t feel too bad about a multi-millionaire, and don’t forget he’s hired a hot lawyer to pressure CNN on the exit. But he insisted:

Life is short, and whatever life hands you, you have to bob and weave and do it. I didn’t think I would be at work one evening and get a phone call that my sister had died, but I had to deal with that. I didn’t think that my dad would die young of diabetes, but I had to deal with that.”

So there are lots of things that come your way that are unexpected, but I’m a survivor. I come from strong, sturdy stock in Louisiana and a lot of people are rooting for me and who love me.

“I live my life with no regrets, and whatever I did, I did, and I owned,” he said. “You can’t turn back time, and you can’t go in the past. So, onward.”

AP didn’t have as much success getting usable comments: