It’s been a trying week for CNN.
Network anchor Don Lemon is facing backlash for failing to mention his ties to Jussie Smollett after it came out in court this week that the two were in contact amid his alleged hate crime hoax.
via Complex:
While covering the actor’s trial Monday night on his late-night show, Don Lemon Tonight, the CNN host didn’t mention his alleged role in tipping off Smollett about being investigated by police.
Lemon discussed the trial with CNN reporter Omar Jimenez just hours after Smollett testified in his own defense that he received a text from Lemon, supposedly relaying information that the Chicago Police Department didn’t believe Smollett’s account of what happened.
“Please resign and salvage what you have left of your disgraceful career,” one person tweeted, adding that viewers are “tired of your lies and divisiveness.”
Smollett was arrested in February 2019 after Chicago police suspected that he orchestrated a hate crime in an effort to advance his career and secure more compensation for his role on Empire. The actor was then charged for allegedly falsifying a police report regarding his claim that he was brutally attacked by two masked Trump supporters who targeted him for being a Black, openly gay man.
We expect Don to mention it by the end of the week.
At 10-to-midnight, @DonLemon and @OmarJimenez finally discuss the Jussie Smollett trial. But neither "journalist" mentioned how Smollett testified under oath that Lemon tipped him off to police skepticism of his hoax claims. The whole segment lasted 5 minutes and 7 seconds. pic.twitter.com/fNpgiY9o3J
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) December 7, 2021
