Don Lemon’s legal team is considering suing Variety magazine for publishing “15-year-old gossip” in a bombshell article about his alleged history of threatening and demeaning women.
“The story, which is riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence, is entirely based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip,” Lemon’s representative said Wednesday in a statement to the L.A. Times.
“It’s amazing and disappointing that Variety would be so reckless,” the rep added.
Variety.com‘s article, which was published Wednesday, April 5, relied on “malicious” text messages and eyewitness accounts to paint a picture of Lemon’s misogynistic behavior toward female colleagues over the years.
Lemon was demoted from his coveted primetime slot to co-host “CNN This Morning” with Kaitlin Collins and Poppy Harlow late last year.
In February, Lemon, 57, was suspended for saying Republican candidate Nikki Haley, 51, was “too old” to run for president.
According to Variety, sources say Lemon’s “Diva-like behavior” dates back to 2008 when he was co-anchoring CNN’s “Live From” weekday show with Kyra Phillips.
According to the source, tensions between Lemon and Phillips escalated over several months.
When Phillips landed a high-profile assignment in Iraq — a gig he desperately wanted — Lemon allegedly ripped up pictures and notes and left the pieces on top of and inside Phillips’ desk.
“When she returned from Iraq, things only got weirder. 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.'”
The text messages were eventually traced back to Lemon. A Human Resources investigation was launched, and Lemon was abruptly yanked from his co-anchor duties with Phillips and moved to the weekends.
Lemon was also accused of calling a female producer “fat” and telling biracial anchor Soledad O’Brien that she is not Black.
A spokesperson for CNN dismissed the latest allegations in a statement, saying, “CNN cannot corroborate the alleged events from 15 years ago. The Variety story provides no actual proof.”
A source within Lemon’s camp said CNN execs including CEO Chris Licht are “standing behind him.”
Read Variety.com‘s lengthy hit piece about Don Lemon here.
