Turning out mainly clear and colder; brisk winds into the evening, diminishing later at night. .
Turning out mainly clear and colder; brisk winds into the evening, diminishing later at night.
Updated: March 17, 2025 @ 6:50 pm
Ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon alleged to Bill Maher on the latter’s podcast, Club Random, that he was sexually harassed by colleagues while working at the network multiple times.
Throughout the two-hour interview (watch it below), Maher and Lemon talked about the shifting landscape of media bias, the existence of rational MAGA Republicans, and the broadcaster’s experiences as a gay Black man. Early on in the episode, they talked about experiencing harassment in the workplace. “I’ve been harassed by women and men in the work,” he claimed to the podcast host. “There are some things that are really egregious, but not everything is Harvey Weinstein-level.”
According to Lemon, he had uncomfortable moments with colleagues and he alleged that included being touched inappropriately in a CNN cafeteria by a female coworker in Atlanta, Georgia. The “young lady tweaked his nipples” and then said, “Oh, it’s cold in here,” he claimed.
“OK — you realize if I did that, they’d be walking me out the door right now?” he said he told the woman. Lemon didn’t go to HR or say anything to anyone because he said it was a double standard for the woman who did it.
He was also allegedly sexually harassed by a higher-up at a cable news channel not 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,” Lemon told Maher. “She knew I was gay, and it was just bizarre. She was going through a divorce. It was just weird.”
Lemon said he also did not report this instance because he didn’t think he would be believed by anyone. He also said he didn’t want to be let go from the company. After pressure from the podcast host, Lemon alleged that the harassment came from a woman with whom he attended business events. He claimed he tried to leave, but the woman asked him to stay in her guest room.
The former anchor claimed that after the incident happened, the woman was “so mean” to him. He said that as a man, he knows he has the power to say no. “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’,” he said.
Lemon claimed to Maher that he was molested as a child, so the power structure is skewed. “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,’” he said.
If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
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Originally published on tvinsider.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
Turning out mainly clear and colder; brisk winds into the evening, diminishing later at night.
Turning out mainly clear and colder; brisk winds into the evening, diminishing later at night.
Sunny skies and warming up; a dry and pleasant day with lighter winds.
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