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Don Lemon Accused of Making ‘Derogatory’ Feedback About Nancy Grace, Soledad O’Brien & Extra

Don Lemon has made lower than savory feedback all through his profession, however after his “women in their prime” second, a brand new expose has surfaced detailing his tenure at CNN, which reportedly says he’s ridiculed and attacked his colleagues for over 15 years.

The report dates again to 2008, in line with Variety, the place he was enraged that his then-colleague Kyra Phillips was assigned to cowl Iraq, a lot in order that he tore up notes at their shared information pod and threatened her by way of textual content from a burner cellphone. In line with the expose, management at CNN traced the quantity again to Lemon, which despatched a textual content: “Now you’ve crossed the road, and also you’re going to pay for it.” An investigation with HR was launched, and in consequence, Lemon was made to cowl the weekend shift, thought-about a demotion on the time, says Selection.

This is only one of many incidents the place Lemon allegedly lashed out when a feminine counterpart bought alternatives he couldn’t, together with when Soledad O’Brien anchored CNN’s Black in America collection in 2008. Throughout an editorial name asserting the collection anchor, Lemon reportedly mentioned that O’Brien wasn’t Black.

“Don has lengthy had a behavior of claiming idiotic and inaccurate issues, so it sounds fairly on model for him,” O’Brien, who wasn’t current on the decision, informed Selection.

Don Lemon at pre-GRAMMYs event

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Photographs for The Recording Academy

“Don, Soledad, and others have previously accurately referred to her Afro-Cuban heritage as it’s a distinctive a part of her private story,” a CNN spokesperson countered. “However Don denies making any associated comment in a derogatory approach.”

There have been different cases detailed within the report, together with moments the place Lemon would allegedly miss editorial calls and present as much as work late in what sources known as “diva-like habits” to Selection. The outlet additionally mentions different insensitive feedback made by the reporter on-air, comparable to alleging a sufferer of Bill Cosby ought to have bitten his penis, mocking colleague Nancy Grace, asking political commentator S.E. Cupp if she had “mommy brain,” and saying the boys’s nationwide soccer group ought to receives a commission greater than the ladies’s group as a result of the boys are “more interesting to watch.”

The incident with Nancy Grace dates again to the late 2000s when Lemon is alleged to have mimicked her condescendingly whereas the pair had been on air. He was additionally accused of being “impolite and dismissive” to Grace, who a supply is reported as saying regards Lemon as “an ass.”

One other time issues hit boiling level was when Lemon was allegedly annoyed that Anderson Cooper and O’Brien obtained extra airtime than he did throughout a 2009 Michael Jackson memorial, the place administration needed to attempt to get him beneath management.

“That led to a come-to-Jesus second,” a former CNN government informed Selection. “Don was informed, ‘Look, you’ve bought to deal with your habits. Your efficiency as a reporter is nice. It’s your habits that’s gotta enhance. It’s what’s going to derail you if you happen to’re not cautious.’”

Nevertheless, the direct method seems to not have carried out a lot; as Jeff Zucker took management of CNN in 2013, Lemon started to realize prominence inside the community and continued to take action. Reviews from the expose say they discovered Lemon distant after this, shifting towards attaining private positive factors than telling impactful tales.

“I noticed a brand new Don rising, and I didn’t like the brand new Don,” a pal informed Selection. “He likes movie star. He likes fame, likes energy. He was not the identical particular person.”

“The story, which is riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete proof, is fully based mostly on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old nameless gossip,” a CNN spokesperson, on behalf of Lemon, informed The Daily Beast. “It’s superb and disappointing that Selection could be so reckless.”




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