Seen and Unseen: Don Lemon completes his penance
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Embattled CNN host Don Lemon landed in hot water earlier this year for making a disparaging comment about women, but it wasn't the first time he's acted out in the workplace, according to a new report.
A bombshell report in Variety on Wednesday made scandalous allegations about the anchor’s past, such as sending threatening text messages to a colleague and repeatedly exhibiting misogynistic and "diva-like" behavior, but CNN has downplayed the claims as "patently false anecdotes."
In 2008, Lemon co-anchored weekend CNN show "Live From" alongside Kyra Phillips, where he had what Variety called "concerning" antipathy with his female colleague.
"For months, tensions between the pair kept mounting. On more than one occasion, a ‘Live From’ producer and a newsroom supervisor had to pull Lemon off the air during a commercial break because of the anchor’s provocative antics," Variety’s Tatiana Siegel wrote.
Don Lemon anchors "CNN This Morning" alongside Poppy Harlow, right, and Kaitlan Collins. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CNN)
"While Phillips was on assignment in Iraq — a high-profile gig that Lemon coveted — he vented his disappointment at being passed over by tearing up pictures and notes on top of and inside Phillips’ desk in the news pod they shared, according to two sources who worked there at the time. When she returned from Iraq, things only got weirder," Siegel continued. "One night while dining with members of the news team, she received the first of two threatening text messages from an unknown number on her flip phone that warned, ‘Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it.’"
Phillips was "was visibly rattled and quickly enlisted CNN’s higher ups to identify the sender," according to Variety.
"Remarkably, the texts were traced back to Lemon, according to those same sources. A human resources investigation was launched, and while the findings were never disclosed to the growing pool of staffers who were aware of the situation, Lemon was abruptly pulled from his co-anchor duties with Phillips and moved to the weekends. It was a demotion by any objective measure and understood to be some kind of disciplinary action," Siegel wrote.
Embattled CNN host Don Lemon landed in hot water earlier this year for making a disparaging comment about when women are past their "prime." (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for THR)
A CNN spokesperson provided Variety with the following comment: "Don says the alleged incident never occurred and that he was never notified of any investigation. CNN cannot corroborate the alleged events from 15 years ago."
Phillips, who now works for ABC News, declined to provide Variety with a comment. ABC News did not immediately respond when asked for comment by Fox News Digital.
Lemon was not paired with female co-anchors again until 2022, when CNN CEO Chris Licht pulled him from primetime and made him the focus of the newly launched "CNN This Morning" alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.
"CNN This Morning" has failed to attract viewers, becoming synonymous with internal dysfunction along the way. In February, Lemon irked CNN staffers when he said former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was past her "prime" at age 51. Lemon attempted a mea culpa during the network's morning editorial call the following morning after his comments were widely condemned as sexist, but it didn’t go over well.
"Most pathetic attempt at an apology I have ever heard in my life," a CNN insider told Fox News Digital at the time. "F-----g a--hole."
DON LEMON'S 'PATHETIC' APOLOGY FOR SEXIST REMARK SPARKS EVEN MORE FURY INSIDE CNN: ‘F-----G A--HOLE’
Lemon was benched for a few days but continued to anger colleagues when he used the time off to relax on a Miami beach in full view of the paparazzi.
"The incident has spotlighted Lemon’s troubling treatment of women and unprofessional antics, dating back nearly two decades. Variety spoke with more than a dozen former and current colleagues who painted a picture of a journalist who flouted rules and cozied up to power all while displaying open hostility to many female co-workers. Each and every time, he appeared to charm his way out of facing any meaningful consequences," Siegel wrote.
Lemon has also clashed with Collins on air, and a February clip made the rounds where he refused to let the show go to commercial while criticizing Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., after an interview Collins had just finished with him. As Harlow praised Collins for her interviewing skills and said "moving on," Lemon said, "Not moving on," and proceeded to make a speech about having a "shared reality." He also admonished the show's producers to cut the music, so he could speak.
This came after comments Lemon made about the U.S. men’s national soccer team deserving higher pay than the women’s team because they are "more interesting."
CNN'S DON LEMON ROASTED AS ‘SEXIST’ FOR SAYING NIKKI HALEY IS PAST HER ‘PRIME’
Lemon took a beach vacation in February amid an outcry over his comments about when women are past their "prime." (MEGA/GC Images)
Variety reported that Lemon’s colleagues consider him "diva-like" and "a shameless name dropper," who openly dated a much younger male junior employee long before he came out of the closet.
"More troubling was his misogynistic behavior, multiple sources say. Lemon called one of his producers fat to her face. Not long before he was fingered for sending threatening texts to Phillips, he mocked [Nancy] Grace on air by mimicking her, shocking fellow colleagues," Siegel wrote before citing an alleged witness of the Grace ordeal who said, "That was the beginning of when you knew that Don was kind of volatile and didn’t say good things about women."
Variety also reported that Lemon once suggested former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien "isn’t Black" in front of multiple staffers when she was selected to host the high-profile documentary series "Black in America."
O’Brien didn’t exactly deny the allegation.
"Don has long had a habit of saying idiotic and inaccurate things, so it sounds pretty on brand for him," she told Variety.
DON LEMON'S CNN COLLEAGUES ANGERED BY ‘STUPID’ REMARKS ABOUT NIKKI HALEY BEING PAST HER PRIME
Lemon’s "CNN This Morning" managed only 360,000 total viewers last week. (CNN screenshot)
A CNN spokesperson added, "Don, Soledad and others have in the past correctly referred to her Afro-Cuban heritage as it is a unique part of her personal story. But Don denies making any related remark in a derogatory way."
CNN blasted Variety when asked for comment about the bombshell report.
"The story, which is riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence, is entirely based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip. It’s amazing and disappointing that Variety would be so reckless," a CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Despite abysmal ratings and a long history of controversial remarks about women, both on air and off the set, Lemon continues to be one of the faces of CNN. Lemon’s "CNN This Morning" managed only 360,000 total viewers last week, compared to 1.9 million for "FOX & Friends."
Fox News' David Rutz contributed to this report.
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