Don Lemon Claims He Was Sexually Harassed While at CNN: ‘This Young Lady Tweaked My Nipples’
Don Lemon claimed on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast that he was sexually harassed multiple times by colleagues while he worked for CNN.
During a discussion about media and harassment early in the nearly-two hour Club Random episode posted on Sunday, Lemon claimed there were two instances of female CNN colleagues harassing him while he was at the network. Lemon was let go by the network in April 2023, and he’s since hosted his own podcast.
“I’ve been harassed by women and men in the work. There are some things that are really egregious, but not everything is Harvey Weinstein-level,” Lemon told Maher.
He then recalled having his nipples “tweaked” by a young female colleague in CNN’s Atlanta cafeteria.
“This young lady tweaked my nipples and said, ‘Oh, it’s cold in here,'” Lemon said.
The former CNN host added that he explained to the woman that if he’d “tweaked” her nipples, he’d be walked out the door. Lemon called it a “double standard,” but said he didn’t “care to go to HR.”
Lemon also referenced a second incident that was “bizarre” and “weird” involving a female colleague in Atlanta. Maher pressed Lemon to provide details on the incident, which Lemon also said he did not report to HR for fear of being dismissed from the network. The alleged incident did not take place on company property. According to Lemon, the female colleague hit on him at a cocktail party as he repeatedly declined her advances.
“This was a while ago, and there was no Uber or anything like that. If you are in Atlanta, the taxis aren’t available,” Lemon said, explaining the woman was pushing him to stay in a “guest room.”
Lemon claimed the woman was going through a divorce and was “so mean” to him afterwards. Lemon did not reveal any names. Both incidents, according to Lemon, took place in Atlanta. Lemon moved from Atlanta to New York in 2013, meaning both incidents would have occurred more than a decade ago.
CNN declined to comment when reached for comment by Mediaite.
Lemon also told Maher he was molested as a child when explaining why he did not report these alleged incidents.
“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,'” he said. “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.'”
Watch above via Club Random.
