CNN This Morning host Don Lemon is facing more controversy. Lemon has been a CNN mainstay since 2006. For most of his time at the network, he has maintained a squeaky-clean image. However, a string of recent incidents has put that image in doubt. The embattled anchor found himself in a media storm earlier this year for comments he made about Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley. During a segment on the show, Lemon remarked that the 51-year-old former South Carolina Governor was “out of her Prime.” The remarks led to Lemon’s brief absence from the network. He was also ordered to sensitivity training.
According to a new Variety article, Lemon allegedly engaged in a pattern of threatening and inappropriate behavior involving multiple CNN colleagues. The article alleges that Lemon was disrespectful to CNN host Nancy Grace on air. He also allegedly claimed during an editorial meeting that Soledad O’Brien, who is of white and Afro-Cuban heritage, isn’t black. However, the worst of the allegations involve Lemon’s former CNN “Live From” co-host Kyra Phillips.
Damaging Texts Allegedly Traced Back To Lemon
The article claims Lemon was angry that Phillips landed a role covering the Iraq war, a job he allegedly wanted. This allegedly led to Lemon ripping up photos that were on Phillip’s desk. The article goes on to allege that when Phillips returned from Iraq, she received a threatening text message from an unknown phone number. One of the texts allegedly read “Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it.” After an investigation by CNN management, the text was allegedly traced back to Lemon.
Other CNN staffers told Variety that Lemon annoyed them with “diva like behavior.” This allegedly included not attending editorial calls and showing up late to the newsroom. Another allegation involved Lemon’s CNN colleague Anderson Cooper. The article alleges that Lemon complained that Cooper received more airtime during the network’s coverage of Michael Jackson’s funeral in 2009. Lemon is the first CNN anchor to face controversy in recent memory. Former anchor Chris Cuomo was fired by the network in 2021. Time will tell if Lemon will face the same fate.
[Via]