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Don Lemon special treatment skewers CNN company culture

Sunira Chaudhri

Sunira Chaudhri

Toronto Employment Lawyer

For the uninitiated, Don Lemon, star anchor of CNN, was taken off air in February following comments that U.S. presidential candidate Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime,” and doubled down when he expounded “A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s, and maybe 40s.”

When news broke of the investigation into Jian Ghomeshi, CBC’s darling marquee host in 2014, loyal watchers of the media outlet were gobsmacked.

 

How could the CBC turn a blind eye to such misconduct?

 

And while the allegations swirling around Don Lemon do not rise to the same level of seriousness or criminality, almost a decade after Ghomeshi’s ouster, CNN seems to be taking a page from the CBC playbook.

 

For the uninitiated, Don Lemon, star anchor of CNN, was taken off air in February following comments that U.S. presidential candidate Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime,” and doubled down when he expounded “A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s, and maybe 40s.”

 

Despite his obviously discriminatory comments, Lemon was permitted to return to his morning anchor spot (that he hosts with two women anchors) just a few days later with a promise to “do better.”

 

But according to Variety magazine, Lemon’s questionable conduct dates back 15 years when he was co-anchoring a weekday show with Kyra Phillips.

 

According to Variety, Lemon sent Phillips disturbing text messages from an anonymous cellphone after she landed a high-profile assignment in Iraq that Lemon was vying for. An internal Human Resources investigation allegedly traced the messages back to Lemon and included him texting Phillips: “Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it.”

 

Despite these deeply disturbing revelations — particularly that Lemon threatened Phillips using a burner phone, presumably to avoid detection and exponentially increase the fear associated with the threat — Lemon was simply reassigned to host a weekend show.

 

Since 2008, Lemon has allegedly left a trail of discriminatory incidents and comments in his wake, including recently asking a host if she has “mommy brain” on air. The incidents are largely corroborated by former hosts, panelists and employees of the network. They have also been widely reported on in the media.

 

So how do you solve a problem like Don Lemon?

 

When a network has looked passed the transgressions of its marquis host for over a decade, finding the right moment to exit him may feel like a bridge too far.

 

But it is perhaps without question that CNN has placed its own reputation in the balance with viewers by taking lacklustre steps to rein Lemon in rather than remove him entirely.

 

It is hard to imagine how other employees working with Lemon must view their own futures. It is incredibly disheartening to work for any employer that can’t or won’t stand up to discriminatory, threatening behavior.

 

CNN has opened itself up to liability by foisting Lemon’s unmitigated controversial verbal attacks on female anchors and employees with relative impunity.

 

The age of the untouchable marquis employee is over. It’s time for media conglomerates to catch up.

 

Have a workplace issue? Maybe I can help! Email me at sunira@worklylaw.com and your question may be featured in a future column.

 

The content of this article is general information only and is not legal advice.

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