Don Lemon Gets Bad More Press for Jon Stewart Slight Following Variety's 'Misogyny' Expose

It appears CNN anchor Don Lemon was recently caught on a hot mic diminishing Jon Stewart during CNN This Morning Monday while showing a clip of the comedian speaking to US Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks about a failure to support military rank and file, forcing them to be on food stamps, despite the $850 billion budget.

As the clip played of Stewart dressing down Hicks on his show The Problem with Jon Stewart, Lemon is heard saying, “He gets a lot of leeway with the comedian thing,” followed by an awkward pause where it seems Lemon realized his mic was on. Catching himself and attempting to recover, Lemon added, “We’re just discussing that Jon Stewart is so much more than a comedian, he’s a thought leader.”

The clip quickly made the rounds (including Rebel HQ, as seen above), as did stories about the gaff — including here on DansPapers.com, but we’re willing to be Stewart, a former Sag Harbor resident, will rise above it and probably blast the media for the overreaction.

We await his response, if he dignifies it with one.

Don Lemon Variety Expose

In other bad news for Lemon, Variety‘s Tatiana Siegel wrote an earth-shattering exposé titled “Don Lemon’s Misogyny at CNN, Exposed: Malicious Texts, Mocking Female Coworkers and Diva-Like Behavior.”

The article goes back to 2008, when the Sag Harbor resident co-anchored CNN’s Live From weekday show with Kyra Phillips. The article states that several times, one of the show’s producers, in addition to a newsroom supervisor, would have to pull Lemon off the air when the show broke for a commercial due to Lemon’s antics, which were similar to his recent statement that since Nikki Haley is 51 years old, she would not make a viable candidate for president because she “isn’t in her prime.”

The article describes how sources claim that Lemon was disrespectful to Nancy Grace while on the air and to Soledad O’Brien during an editorial meeting where 30 staff members were in attendance.

Sources allege that Lemon sent “two threatening text messages from an unknown number” to Phillips, one that warned, “Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it.”

After the texts were traced back to Lemon, sources say, he was pulled from the show with Phillips and moved to weekends. Siegel wrote that a spokesperson for CNN told Variety, “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 joined ABC in 2018 as a correspondent based in Washington, D.C., did not issue a comment to Variety.

The article sums up Lemon’s career through the years at CNN by saying, “Once again, Lemon survived the outcry.”