Don Lemon’s Grammys weekend took an unexpected turn from planned coverage to becoming the story himself. Despite publicly teasing live red-carpet reporting for Sunday night’s awards show, the former CNN anchor ultimately did not appear in any broadcasting capacity, a change that followed his arrest by federal agents earlier in the week.
Lemon had posted a video on the day of his arrest enthusiastically confirming that he would be live from the Grammys red carpet, listing a wide array of platforms where viewers could watch his coverage, including YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, and Substack. Yet when the awards ceremony arrived on Feb. 1, no such livestream materialized. His agent later confirmed that Lemon would not be covering the event that night, without offering further explanation.
The abrupt shift came amid legal trouble stemming from Lemon’s recent reporting activities. According to a statement from his attorney, Lemon was arrested on Jan. 29 while in Los Angeles, with the charges tied to his involvement in covering a protest inside a Minnesota church earlier in January. Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly confirmed the arrest, stating that Lemon and several others—including another journalist and political activists—were taken into custody in connection with that incident. Lemon was released by a judge the following day and has maintained that he was acting strictly in his role as a journalist.
Outside the courthouse, Lemon struck a defiant tone, vowing that he would not be silenced and emphasizing the importance of independent media in holding power to account. Images of him holding hands with his husband, Tim Malone, quickly circulated online, generating both support and satire across social media.
Violating the civil rights of Christians gets you a standing ovation from Hollywood elites
Tells you everything pic.twitter.com/Y4n2PORoiO
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) February 2, 2026
While Lemon did not report from the Grammys, he was far from absent from the weekend’s events. He attended Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy gala on Jan. 31, where he received a standing ovation from the audience, a moment he later shared online with a message expressing gratitude for the support. The guest list included prominent figures from entertainment and politics, underscoring Lemon’s continued visibility despite his departure from mainstream cable news.
On Grammys night itself, Lemon walked the red carpet alongside Malone, not as a correspondent but as a guest. The contrast was striking: days earlier he had been promoting his coverage, and now he was the focus of attention rather than the one asking questions. Once a fixture of cable news panels and breaking coverage, Lemon has increasingly become a polarizing symbol in debates over press freedom, protest, and the boundaries between reporting and activism.
