Don Lemon says women at CNN sexually harassed him – Business News
Fired CNN anchor Don Lemon alleged that feminine colleagues sexually harassed him, together with one who groped the homosexual anchor by touching his nipples whereas exclaiming, “Oh, it’s cold in here!”
Lemon, who was canned in 2023 after a tumultuous 17-year stint at the ratings-challenged community, made the declare during an look on Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast on Monday.
During the two-hour dialog, Lemon claimed there have been uncomfortable encounters involving each female and male colleagues.
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon alleged that he was subjected to sexual harassment by women whereas working at the community. Club Random Podcast
“I’ve been harassed by women and men at work,” Lemon instructed Maher during the two-hour dialog.
“There are some things that are really egregious, but not everything is Harvey Weinstein-level,” he added, referring to the film mogul who was sentenced to more than 30 years in jail after being convicted for quite a few sexual assaults.
Lemon pointed to an interplay with one feminine CNN co-worker who approached him within the cafeteria of CNN’s Atlanta headquarters and pinched his nipples, joking, “Oh, it’s cold in here!”
The surprised anchor stated he instructed her: “OK, you realize if I did that, they’d be walking me out the door right now?”
Despite feeling uncomfortable, Lemon stated he determined to not report the incident to human assets, attributing his silence to a perceived double customary.
Lemon alleged that a second feminine colleague behaved inappropriately in direction of him during an off-site encounter.
“She knew I was gay, and it was just bizarre. She was going through a divorce. It was just weird,” Lemon stated.
Lemon spent 17 years at CNN earlier than he was fired in April 2023. CNN
He expressed hesitation about reporting the colleague as he feared that given her skilled stature, he wouldn’t be believed.
Lemon — whose interview had sparked outrage after he claimed that supporters of President Trump had been “really f–king racist,” stated he additionally feared that reporting the incident would jeopardize his own place within the community.
He didn’t identify the alleged harasser.
Pressed by Maher for more particulars, Lemon clarified that the incident additionally occurred in Atlanta after a skilled occasion.
He recalled how restricted transportation choices at the time left him stranded, ensuing within the girl insisting he keep at her residence.
“‘No, don’t go home. Stay in the guest room,’” Lemon recounted her urging him, including that she later grew to become notably hostile towards him.
Reflecting additional, Lemon shared his perspective on gender dynamics and harassment, suggesting that as a man, he felt empowered to say no with out fearing vital repercussions.
“I think it’s flattering as long as you can send them off easily. As a man, I could say, ‘No, I’m not interested’,” he instructed Maher.
Lemon didn’t present any additional particulars about alleged sexual harassment by male colleagues.
Bur he did inform Maher that he had been molested during his childhood. He then drew a nexus between the traumatic expertise to the alleged situations of harassment whereas at CNN.
Lemon stated that he declined to report the alleged incidents to human assets. donlemoncnn/Instagram
“Because you know how to deal with it, and you know what’s really important or not. And you know, like, who has the power,” Lemon stated.
Lemon stated that he would quite deal with conditions instantly quite than escalating them by formal complaints to human assets.
“I figure as a man, I have the power to say, ‘I don’t want to.’ I don’t need to go to HR or ruin your career. I just tell you, ‘I’m not interested in this. You were drunk. We had a couple of drinks or whatever. Let’s let it go’,” Lemon stated.
A CNN spokesperson declined to remark.
Lemon himself was accused of misogynistic habits during his tenure at CNN, which included a number of high-profile incidents that generated headlines and outrage.
Bill Maher pressed Lemon for particulars on one of the alleged situations of harassment, however Lemon declined to offer any. Club Random Podcast
In December 2022, Lemon asserted that males’s soccer is “more interesting to watch,” resulting in an on-air disagreement with co-hosts Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow.
In February 2023, Lemon confronted backlash after stating that presidential candidate Nikki Haley, then 51, was “not in her prime,” suggesting that a girl’s prime is in her 20s, 30s and 40s.
This remark was criticized as sexist, prompting Lemon to apologize to his colleagues.
Two months later, the leisure information magazine Variety reported that Lemon was accused of misogynistic habits in direction of feminine colleagues, together with Soledad O’Brien, Kyra Phillips and Nancy Grace.
Lemon is alleged to have questioned O’Brien’s racial id. Variety additionally reported that Lemon allegedly threatened Phillips and mocked Grace.
Lemon’s consultant denied these allegations, labeling them as “unsourced” and “unsubstantiated.”
Shorlty after the Variety report was printed, Lemon was fired by CNN. He has since gone on to start out his own podcast.
