CNN’s Don Lemon has put up with a lot of crap regarding his Ferguson coverage. As some may recall, he had to endure that excruciating interview with ego-ridden rapper Talib Kweli. The New York Daily News called it a “disastrous interview” while Mediate called it “chaotic” and TheRightScoop dubbed it a “TRAIN WRECK.”
The disaster wasn’t Lemon’s fault. Rather the rapper was all whiny that Lemon hadn’t sucked up to him with niceties before the interview. On air, Kweli complained that Lemon was on his phone instead of playing kissy kissy with him. Gross.
The only thing wrong with the interview was that Lemon tried to appease Kweli by the end so the pair would appear to end on a good note, instead of the shitty one that played throughout.
(Note to readers: I’m not ashamed to admit I’m generally a Don Lemon fan and would watch him easily over MSNBC’s Chris Hayes or Ronan Farrow.)
But then Lemon went in a wild direction. In an insightful piece in the Daily Surge by Jerome Hudson, he points to the irony of Lemon fretting about Michael Brown’s funeral turning into a media spectacle as if Lemon isn’t part of the media, but somehow above it.
Some of the more tone-deaf statements of Lemon’s that Hudson includes: “It’s important that this turns into something other than just a media spectacle,” said CNN news anchor Don Lemon. “This should be for family and people who knew Michael Brown. Railing against the celebrities and politicians who attended Brown’s funeral, Lemon said, “Those people didn’t know him. They come for a day or a week, they get in the camera spotlight. They take part in the moment. Then when the cameras go away, they’re gone, as well.”
But isn’t that Lemon and nearly every other reporter in Ferguson? Or is Lemon planning to move to Ferguson when this thing is all over?
“One thing is clear: Trumped by the politics of self-interest and ratings-boosting media narratives, Michael Brown’s death stopped being about Michael Brown almost immediately after he was pronounced dead,” wrote Hudson. “…Oh, you want more irony? Don Lemon tweeted about taking a ‘break from twitter today in respect for parents & lives lost. Not choosing sides.’ He tweeted that with a picture of him hugging Michael Brown’s mother. Hashtag: #FAIL .”
Newsflash to Lemon: Whether you like it or not, you are the media and CNN covered the story for its own gain just like everyone else.