The controversies leading to Don Lemon’s CNN firing

Don Lemon is no stranger to controversy.

The now ex-CNN anchor was in hot water multiple times in the lead-up to Monday’s shock firing — from his infamous Nikki Haley “past her prime” remark to a screaming match with a female co-host and alleged “diva” behavior.

CNN hasn’t provided a public explanation for Lemon’s ouster after 17 years with the cable news network.

But Lemon took to Twitter to insist that he had been blindsided by the news after hosting “CNN This Morning” earlier in the day.

“I am stunned,” he tweeted.

His axing comes a little over two months after he apologized to viewers for his sexist on-air comments about Haley — a Republican presidential candidate.

Here’s a round-up of the longtime anchor’s string of recent headline-grabbing controversies:

‘Past her prime’

Lemon sparked widespread outrage in February over his Haley remarks.

During a discussion with co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins about the ages of politicians, Lemon described the 51-year-old presidential candidate as not “in her prime.”

“A woman is considered to be in their prime in [their] 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,” he said.

After Harlow called him out over the remarks, Lemon doubled down by claiming he wasn’t stating his personal beliefs.

“That’s not according to me. It’s like, prime. If you look it up. If you Google when is a woman in her prime, it’ll say 20s, 30s and 40s,” he argued.

“I’m just saying Nikki Haley should be careful about saying that politicians are not in their prime and they need to be in their prime when they serve. Because she wouldn’t be in her prime according to, you know, Google.”

Haley — a former US Ambassador to the United Nations — quickly ripped the CNN host, accusing him of being sexist.

Lemon issued a statement that day saying he regretted his “inartful and irrelevant” comments — but stopped short of apologizing to Haley, or even mentioning her name.

He was subsequently absent from the show for several days.

After news of his ousting broke, Haley tweeted on Monday: “A great day for women everywhere. Now, let’s get men out of women’s sports. #StillInMyPrime.”

Beef with his co-host

In December last year, Lemon is said to have “screamed” at his co-anchor, Kaitlan Collins, after an on-air segment, sources told The Post at the time.

When the cameras stopped rolling after the Dec. 8 show, he allegedly approached Collins and unleashed on her in front of staffers for supposedly “interrupting” him on air.

“Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio,” one source said.

In the aftermath, a source said: “At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible … It’s messy.”

Neither Lemon nor Collins commented on the spat at the time.

Soccer spat

Just weeks before his alleged screaming match, Lemon clashed with his two female co-hosts over on-air remarks he made about women’s soccer.

Lemon got into an awkward dispute with both Collins and Harlow after he suggested the US men’s soccer team should get paid more than the women’s side.

“The men’s team makes more money. If they make more money, then they should get more money,” Lemon said.

“The men’s team makes more money because people are more interested in the men.”

Harlow said she had a “big issue” with his comments before trying to explain that male teams rake in more because they get more advertising dollars.

Lemon quickly walked back the comment, insisting it was a joke.

Diva-like behavior

A damning Variety magazine report published earlier this month alleged Lemon has a long history of sexist and “diva-like behavior.”

The report cited roughly a dozen former CNN staffers who listed several alleged instances of misogynistic behavior.

The magazine reported Lemon had sent threatening text messages from an anonymous number to co-anchor Kyra Phillips in 2008 because he was furious she was chosen to cover the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq.

A spokesperson for Lemon told The Post that he never sent the text.