Don Lemon reportedly displayed a troubling sample of misogyny lengthy earlier than his feedback about 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley quickly took him off the air.
A brand new exposé from Selection accuses the CNN anchor of getting a historical past of inappropriate habits towards feminine colleagues that spans over the past “20 years.”
Drawn from the accounts from over a dozen of his former co-workers, the report particulars Lemon allegedly antagonizing friends (together with CNN stars Nancy Grace and Soledad O’Brien), belittling feminine co-anchors on-air, and even reportedly waging a textual content message harassment marketing campaign in opposition to a rival reporter.
Lemon got here underneath fireplace in February after he informed CNN viewers former United Nations ambassador Haley was a poor possibility for the Republican presidential candidate, saying she was not “in her prime.”
His feedback have been condemned by each the left and the correct as sexist. Lemon tweeted an apology, calling his remarks “inartful and irrelevant,” including that he was “dedicated to doing higher” going ahead.
The anchor was pulled from the desk for 2 days, returning after the community mentioned he obtained “formal coaching.”
However in response to Selection, the Haley incident was not a one-off, however as a substitute highlighted Lemon’s historical past of hostility towards ladies within the office, in addition to his potential to evade penalties.
Sources recalled Lemon mocking colleague Grace mid-broadcast in 2008, reportedly threatened by her rising star on the community.
“That was the start of if you knew that Don was type of risky and didn’t say good issues about ladies,” a witness to the Grace incident claimed.
Others remembered a workers assembly the place the newsman, indignant that O’Brien was set to host CNN’s “Black in America” docuseries, brazenly questioned her race. Over 30 staffers have been in attendance.
Although O’Brien wasn’t on the assembly, she informed Selection the incident was “on-brand” for Lemon, noting, “Don has lengthy had a behavior of claiming idiotic and inaccurate issues.”
A CNN spokesperson informed Selection that Lemon “denied” referencing O’Brien’s race “in a derogatory method.”
One other accusation relationship again to 2008 claims tensions between Lemon and “Dwell From” co-anchor Kyra Phillips escalated to scary ranges after she landed a coveted on-the-ground project in Iraq.
Upon her return, she obtained a pair of threatening textual content messages from an unknown quantity, reportedly warning Phillips she “crossed the road” and would ”pay for it,” sources informed Selection.
After bringing the threats to CNN’s consideration, the corporate allegedly was in a position to hint the texts again to Lemon. He was subsequently pulled from his job reverse Phillips and moved to weekend broadcasts, in response to Selection.
The CNN spokesperson informed Selection that “Don says the alleged incident by no means occurred and that he was by no means notified of any investigation.”
Different accounts say Lemon exhibited “diva-like habits,” and was vulnerable to skipping essential conferences, displaying up late to the newsroom or being in any other case disengaged from work.
Sources additionally mentioned Lemon’s relationships with higher-ups like Turner Broadcasting System’s CEO Phil Kent and, later, CNN President Jeff Zucker, let him skirt any critical penalties.
CNN broadly denied the report in an announcement to HuffPost.
“The Selection story supplies no precise proof, and as a substitute depends on nameless sources and unsubstantiated claims from 10 to fifteen years in the past,” a spokesperson mentioned. “CNN is unable to corroborate the alleged accounts.”
A consultant for Lemon informed HuffPost that Selection’s story was “riddled with patently false anecdotes,” comprises “no concrete proof,” and is “totally based mostly on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old nameless gossip.” They added, “It’s superb and disappointing that Selection could be so reckless.”
After Zucker’s ouster from CNN in 2022, Lemon returned to weekday mornings on “CNN This Morning” that November. It was his first project with feminine co-anchors since his battle with Phillips over a decade prior.
Lemon’s feedback relating to Haley occurred 4 months later.
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