CNN’s Don Lemon threatened a female colleague in 2008: Report

(The Hill) — CNN host Don Lemon, one of the cable news industry’s most high-profile personalities, has a history of making offensive remarks and threats to female staff members who anger him, according to a new report.

variety It was published In this week’s extensive revelation of Lemon’s behavior regarding women, he alleges a pattern of abusive and threatening behavior by the former primetime anchor.

Reports allege Lemon was upset when he was overtaken by a job interviewing Keira Phillips, who had left the network, while anchoring CNN’s “Live From” show in 2008.

Citing an unnamed source for the network at the time, Variety reported that Phillips received two threatening text messages from unknown senders after he was cleared for the reporting mission. ”

The text was eventually traced back to Lemmon by the network’s leader, the outlet reported.

“Don says the alleged incident never happened and that he was not informed of any investigation,” a network spokesperson told Variety. cannot be substantiated.”

Lemon’s comments about women have been under scrutiny in recent weeks after he became widely known advised Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has been criticized by critics both inside and outside the network for remarks he made shortly after announcing his candidacy for the White House.

“Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime yet, sorry. Women’s prime is thought to be in their 20s, 30s, maybe 40s,” Lemon said on air. early this yearthe irony that earned him an internal outcry from network president Chris Licht and calls from women’s rights groups to fire him.

“A woman’s age does not define her personally or professionally,” Lemon wrote on Twitter as part of an apology for her remarks about Hailey. There are countless women who do.”