Comedian Roy Wood Jr. appeared to slam CNN during the network’s New Year’s Eve show over its firing of longtime host Don Lemon.

Wood Jr. and his Do I have news for you? Co-stars Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black joined CNN’s Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper on their special New Year’s Eve Live Reporting in New York’s Times Square.

An hour into the show, Cohen turned to Wood Jr., Ruffin and Black and offered them his traditional New Year’s Eve tequila.

While Ruffin and Black enthusiastically accepted the vaccinations, Wood Jr. declined the offer, quipping, “No, I don’t. The last black man who drank on this network was fired.

“I’ll keep it with water for now. I need some stability,” he added.

Cooper and Cohen ignored the comedian’s comments and fired Ruffin and Black.

Wood Jr.’s comments appeared to refer to Lemon’s exclusion from the network after 17 years.

Lemon, who previously served as co-host CNN this morning and hosted the station’s New Year’s Eve coverage, was fired in 2023.

“CNN and Don have separated,” CNN Chairman Chris Licht said in a statement at the time. “Don will forever be a part of the CNN family and we thank him for his contributions over the last 17 years. We wish him all the best and will cheer him on in his future endeavors.”

Shortly after the news broke, Lemon shared his own statement on After 17 years at CNN, I would have thought someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly. At no time was there any indication that I would no longer be able to continue doing the work I loved at the network. It’s clear there are some major issues at play.

“With that in mind, I would like to thank my colleagues and the many teams I have worked with for an incredible run. They are the most talented journalists in the industry and I wish them all the best.”

CNN later addressed Lemon’s sharp-tongued response, claiming that his “statement about this morning’s events was inaccurate. He was offered the opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”

No explanation was given for Lemon’s sudden departure; However, this came after Lemon faced a series of controversies, including offensive on-air comments about women and allegations of mistreating female colleagues off-camera.