September 9, 2024
Lemon’s intriguing if unfocused latest (after This Is the Fire) finds the former CNN anchor linking his relationship to Christianity with his recent professional struggles. He opens with an account of his religious upbringing in Louisiana, which offered both a sense of community and the indignity of hearing homosexuality regularly degraded as he struggled with being in the closet. After launching his journalistic career, Lemon grew curious about what he saw as a “disconnect” between Americans and religion “precipitated by the attrition of truth, the gamification of right and wrong, and the fragile nature of faith itself.” He investigates that disconnect with examples from scripture and national politics, including a fascinating section that draws links between various religions’ birth myths and fights over abortion rights. Eventually, he arrives at his 2023 firing from CNN after he made comments about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley being “past her prime.” Lemon claims his words were taken out of context and discusses how his faith carried him through the resulting tumult, but he goes light on details about the further allegations of misogyny that precipitated his firing. The results aren’t especially convincing, but Lemon’s candor and curiosity on other subjects are admirable. In the end, this doesn’t offer much that Lemon’s viewers don’t already know. Agents: Byrd Leavell and Albert Lee, UTA.