Don Lemon says he was sexually harassed by "women and men" throughout his career, including during his nearly 10-year career stint at CNN.
via: THR
Lemon was the guest on Club Random, Bill Maher’s podcast, featuring lengthy and loose interviews with notable cultural figures and newsmakers. Over the nearly two-hour episode, the two discuss the shifting landscape of media bias, the existence of rational MAGA Republicans and Lemon’s experiences as a gay Black man. Early in the episode, the two TV hosts touch on the topic of harassment and Lemon delves into his brushes with uncomfortable moments with colleagues, which include being touched inappropriately by a woman in a CNN cafeteria and being sexually harassed by a superior at the cable news channel.
“I’ve been harassed by women and men in the work,” Lemon told Maher before he shared two examples of his experiences. “There are some things that are really egregious, but not everything is Harvey Weinstein-level.”
The first instance he detailed took place in Atlanta at CNN’s cafeteria, where a “young lady” tweaked the journalist’s nipples and said, “Oh, it’s cold in here!” Lemon explained that he told the woman, “OK — you realize if I did that, they’d be walking me out the door right now?” Lemon said that he “didn’t care to go to HR” and “didn’t say anything, because I’m just like, ‘it’s a double standard for you.’”
The network anchor-turned-web broadcaster then launched into his recollection of an unreported instance with a female colleague who he says also harassed him — but this time, he explains, it did not occur on company property.
“I’ve never told this story as well. Someone who I worked with also harassed me at CNN, and I never went to management,” he explains. “She knew I was gay, and it was just bizarre. She was going through a divorce. It was just weird.”
Lemon said that at the time, he rationalized not reporting the instance because he figured given the alleged harasser’s stature, the company might have found a way to get rid of him. He says that he thought that if he told the story of what happened, he wasn’t sure if he’d be believed.
After pressure from Maher for some details, Lemon explained that the incident also occurred in Atlanta with a woman whom he had spent time with at business events, which included occasional cocktail parties.
“Remember, this was a while ago, and there was no Uber or anything like that. if you are in Atlanta, the taxis aren’t available,” he said, telling Maher when he’d tried to make his exit, he was told to come home with the woman. ‘No, don’t go home. Stay in the guest room.’ That sort of thing.”
Lemon did not elaborate further on the incident from there but told Maher that the CNN employee in question was “so mean to me afterward.” Ultimately, Lemon concludes, as a man he is in a position to say no, which he believes may not always be the case when the roles are reversed.
“I’m an adult, and maybe I think it is different for men and women, depending on the power structure. 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.’”
Lemon then made a surprising revelation to Maher that he was molested as a child.
“But also someone who was molested as a child is a different thing,” he said, causing Maher to interject and confirm what he’d just heard his guest reveal. “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. 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.’”
The Hollywood Reporter reached out to a CNN representative on Monday for comment but did not immediately hear back from the network.
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