Don Lemon apparently openly dated a junior CNN staffer, nearly 20-years younger than him, according to a report from Variety published Wednesday.
The revelation was part of an extensive report from Variety on Lemon’s behavior while at CNN, which reportedly included him calling a producer fat to her face. He’s also said to have threatened another colleague via anonymous text in 2008, according to the report.
Lemon is also said to have openly dated a “fresh-out-of-college” staffer despite their “major age difference and power imbalance,” Variety reported. Lemon was 41-years-old at the time of the romantic entanglement, and the staffer was 22, according to the report.
Comics Reportedly Annoyed After Being Censored By CNN, Kennedy Center Show | @DailyCaller
Political jokes were reportedly censored by CNN… so basically the government (I assume). This is the world your elected officials want, so good luck y’all https://t.co/gTkbaPGs5r
— KAY SMYTHE (@KaySmythe) April 3, 2023
“As fast as you could make a rule, Don would bend it,” one senior executive at the time told Variety.
Lemon was reportedly not out of the closet at the time, but it wasn’t something he was necessarily hiding either, Variety noted. He would apparently drive the staffer to work every day and they were involved in a long-term relationship, Variety reported. Apparently the entire thing was “frowned upon at the time,” according to the outlet.
Aside from his dating preferences, the Variety report outlined how Lemon’s reputation for misogynistic “diva-like” behavior at CNN grew from the time he was first employed. He first joined the network in 2006, and was apparently a “shameless name dropper.” (RELATED: REPORT: CNN Hit With Another Sex Scandal)
CNN is making Lemon undergo “formal training” as it’s unclear whether his career can survive this latest outcry.