Don Lemon made his first public appearance since his unceremonious termination from CNN at the TIME 100 Gala on Wednesday night.
The TV anchor spoke to Page Six on the red carpet about how he was handling life post-CNN after having tweeted initially that he was stunned by the ouster.
"It's not in my nature," he told the outlet of whether he was angered by the process. "I'm not an angry person, I'm not mad," deeming himself "resilient."
"I've had a very full life with lots of twists and turns. I come from strong, sturdy stock in Louisiana and I am lucky enough to be in a position where I don't have to worry about, you know, not having a place to live or a home or whatever."
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When asked about his future, the 57-year-old said: "My emotions are upward. There's a reason that this happened and then we'll see what happens in the future but I'm actually here to celebrate the people from TIME 100 and not talk about me and what's happened to me."
Don originally tweeted out after it was announced that he had been let go from the network after 17 years that the news was a shock to him.
"After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly. At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network."
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He continued: "It is clear that there are some larger issues at play. With that said, I want to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the business and I wish them all the best."
However, the network soon retorted with a response shared to Twitter via CNN Communications, which read: "Don Lemon's statement about this morning's event is inaccurate.
"He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter."
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