You can’t win ’em all. Perhaps nobody understands this better right now than Don Lemon.
The openly gay CNN anchorman and self-proclaimed “Twitter King” was just listed as the worst journalist in 2014 by the Columbia Journalism Review for his many on-air gaffes and “cringe-worthy blunders.”
Ouch.
Some of Lemon’s offenses listed by CJR include:
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- The time he asked guests whether missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 could have been eaten by a black hole. “I know it’s preposterous,” Lemon said, “but is it preposterous?”
- The time he compared the release of US Army POW Bowe Bergdahl to an episode of the Showtime series Homeland starring Claire Danes.
- The time he asked one of Bill Cosby’s alleged rape victims why she didn’t bite off his penis when he tried to attack her. “You know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you didn’t want to do it,” Lemon said. “Meaning the use of teeth, right?”
- The time he went to Ferguson, MO to report on the mounting tensions between civilians and police and he described the scene as: “Obviously, there’s a smell of marijuana in the air.”
We’ll admit, we haven’t been too impressed with Mr. Lemon’s reporting this year, but was he really the worst of 2014? We can think of at least one Texas morning show host who was definitely worse.
So far, Lemon has yet to respond to his latest, um, achievement. Here’s hoping he can find a way to turn these lemons into lemonade.
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Rush Limbaugh Wants To Remind You That Don Lemon Is A Big Gay
Kieran
We should find it troubling that a gaggle of liberal white elite egg-heads at Columbia university choose to single out as “worst” one of the few openly gay black men in the media today.
We can’t help but smell an unsavory whiff of homophobia and racism at play here.
But don’t worry Don. People know who you are, but few people ever heard of this so-called “journalism review” anyway. Even fewer care about their list.
jwtraveler
@Kieran: So if you’re really bad at your job, but happen to be black and/or gay, you shouldn’t be held accountable for your incompetence. And of course, the publication of the most prestigious journalism school in the country, and awarder of the Pulitzer Prize (ever heard of that?) couldn’t possibly know anything about journalism because they are “liberal while elite egg-heads”. Better to ask the uneducated, right-wing, red-neck morons who watch FOX News. They’re the real experts.
Aromaeus
Normally I’m the first one to call out homophobia/racism in these instances but honestly Lemon sucks and this year he’s been at the top(worst) of his game with his suckyness. He’s considered by many in the black community and really no better than those black conservatives that faux news likes to bring out whenever they want to spin something racially.
Aromaeus
considered an uncle tom* why was that taken out of my original comment?
VampDC
He is one of the worst journalists.
And people like @Kieran who simply support him JUST for being gay and black is JUST as bad as someone being more critical of him for being gay or black.
Regardless of his race and sexuality he is a HORRIBLE journalist and deserves this title.
enfilmigult
@Kieran: He really is quite terrible, though. If you want a whiff of racism check out his suggestions to the young black men of America on how to improve their lives (just to warn you, this includes deep thoughts like “stop wearing saggy pants”).
enfilmigult
@Kieran: Actually you might as well just cut to the chase and look up a page entitled “Eight Times Don Lemon Proved He Was the Absolute Worst.”
Sohobod
I hate to say it but he genuinely is stupid. The comment that
the woman forced to perform oral sex, should have used her teeth, showed a staggering lack of empathy or even rudimentary understanding of how completely terrified and powerless these victims are.
And his lack of understanding the history of the Civil Rights campaigns in the 60s just shows what an air-head the man is.
Owen
Lemon is awful, true. But nowhere near as bad as the anchors at Fox News, who, well, LIE. Which I think, in a news organization, should be thought of as worse than the stupid gaffes Dan is consistently making.
Blackceo
I agree that Don has had some major flubs this year but worse than those morons over at Fox News who have panels about race with all White talking heads?? Unless Columbia didnt even evaluate them over there because they don’t consider them real journalists then he’s not the worst. How about the Australian blonde lady on CNN International who suggested that cops in Ferguson use water hoses instead of tear gas? Yes lady, lets just make our trip back to 1950s Jim Crow complete.
I used to really like Don Lemon but cumulatively he was an ass this year. Is he an uncle T-m*? I dont agree with that. He’s one of those Blacks who many other Blacks don’t think is a “real” Black or “Black enough” The fact that he plays in the snow and is often seen with a gaggle of White men socially doesn’t help that but its like if u arent 100% on the team u r an oreo, which is unfortunate. Overall, he’s deserving to be given this award.
Desert Boy
Don Lemon is a clown.
He needs to put down the crack pipe and read a ‘Science for Dummies’ book. It may help him to understand how absurd his black hole gobbled up Malaysian flight 370 comment.
This comment was epic. A level of stupidity even Rush Limbaugh can’t equal.
ppp111
@Blackceo:
Couldn’t agree more. While Lemon has had his guffaws, Fox News and their ilk are notorious for trying to create stories or controversies where there are none or where they’ve been resolved. Besides look at what Fox news has done: the latte salute, the gang sign fist pump, Cliven Bundy, birther issue, presidential college transcripts, Benghazi. As for Benghazi, if they don’t believe their own Republican members on the committee then I guess we can discredit that Bridgegate investigation supposedly involving Chris Christie. I also love how Fox ‘interviews’ guests who have differing viewpoints, especially on police shootings and rape allegations. Seriously, I’m surprised Fox news reporters aren’t at the top of the list.
hephaestion
Don Lemon is an excellent journalist. I think Columbia Journalism Review must be run by FOX News fools now. There are SO MANY fools at FOX who deserve to be called the worst journalist. Don Lemon was clearly attacked by being a good journalist who is black and gay. Conservatives always try to undermine intelligent people.
Imperialist
Why keep comparing to Fox? He should be compared to the best, not the worst. THEN he is beyond worst. BTW, he is a total douche.
pjm1
Don needs to make a few changes to the way he conducts interviews
and some of the things he says. A few (ok, a number) of changes and Don
could be an excellent tv journalist. He should study how some of the other
world class journalists handle difficult situations/conversations.
Perhaps he needs some new people around him —
some new ways of looking at things and to keep the integrity at the highest levels.
He should also get some mentors — he is only middle aged and could really
have (i think) a greater career if he wants.
Bryguyf69
@Aromaeus: Er, his personal opinions and editorials have nothing to do with whether he is a good journalist. And for what it’s worth, I find his opinions to be balanced, and far from “conservative.” Is it really so bad to ask Black youths to pull up to pull up their pants, learn proper English, refrain from using “n*gger/n*gga,” etc? Those are hardly conservative values. They’re values for employment and respect. And Black churches — hardly houses of Conservatism — would expect no less from their parishioners. Would you also call Oprah and Angela Mayou conservatives?
Bryguyf69
@Desert Boy wrote: “He needs to put down the crack pipe and read a ‘Science for Dummies’ book. It may help him to understand how absurd his black hole gobbled up Malaysian flight 370 comment. This comment was epic. A level of stupidity even Rush Limbaugh can’t equal.”
===
And you need to put down the keyboard and actually watch his show. This article cited the black hole question COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTEXT, VERGING ON LIBEL. Viewers of his show will know that he often has Q&A session with an expert panel. THAT WAS A QUESTION TWEETED BY A VIEWER (he’s doing the same tonight). Lemon even made a face asking it. And don’t blame Lemon; his producers choose the tweets, not him.
You may ask how I know this. First, I recorded the episode for some Asian friends. Second, I answered the black hole tweet with real physics.
Feel stupid now for being so self-righteous?
DarkZephyr
Don Lemon, in my opinion, is very cute BUT he is an asshole. His incredible cuteness isn’t enough to help that fact. He can fu** off for all I care.
I do want to say though that I am sick of black men being judged for “playing in the snow”. People should be allowed to date whoever they damned well please as long as who they want to date is of legal age.
Bryguyf69
@Desert Boy: Don’t blame Lemon for a question tweeted in by viewers. In fact, similar questions were tweeted by more than a few viewers. And as I point out above, questions are chosen by his producers, not him. I answered the Black Hole tweet as well as another one about wormholes.
You might want to do your research before being so self-righteous. Because you and Queerty were too lazy to do so, I did it for you. Here is video of the black hole Q&A. Unfortunately, Stewart cropped it just before Lemon made a face showing his opinion of the question.
Start at 2:00
http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/6lqtfn/the-curious-case-of-flight-370
Desert Boy
@Bryguyf69: A Don Lemon fan boy! LOL!
Bryguyf69
@enfilmigult wrote: “Actually you might as well just cut to the chase and look up a page entitled ‘Eight Times Don Lemon Proved He Was the Absolute Worst.’”
===
And did you actually verify that those 8 claims are accurate and taken in context before jumping on the I Hate Don Lemon bandwagon? See my refute of the Black Hole question.
I am probably one of his most critical viewers. I send out least one critical tweet a week, sometimes four. And I address them directly to @donlemon. I BLASTED him last for his soft interview of Cosby’s alleged victims, where he never challenged any of them with obvious questions like, “If you were drugged, why didn’t you go the ER or doctor?” I sent no less than 6 critical tweets that night accusing him of journalism neglect. Yet, as a New Yorker who watches 5-7 hrs of news daily, I can say that he’s not even near the top 10% of bad journalists. Too many people are confusing his personal opinions with journalism.
Bryguyf69
@Desert Boy: Actually, stop making assumptions and read my latest post. Whether I am a fanboy or not is irrelevant. And try actually addressing the topic and using facts rather than personal characterizations. You made a mistake. Move on. THINK ABOUT IT.
Bryguyf69
@enfilmigult wrote: “If you want a whiff of racism check out his suggestions to the young black men of America on how to improve their lives (just to warn you, this includes deep thoughts like ‘stop wearing saggy pants’).”
===
So what exactly was wrong with the blog? The piece consisted of suggestions to Black youths on how to gain respect. Are you saying that saggy pants that expose your undies help the Black community? I can tell you that many Blacks, like my ex-girlfried’s mother, find the look disrespectful and embarrassing. As for racism, your conclusion is illogical. He never said that ONLY Blacks should follow those rules. Nor did he ever say that ONLY blacks dress that way (or do any of the other things on his list). As an analogy, if I told my daughter not to walk alone in the dark, does that mean 1) I wouldn’t give the same advice to my son? 2) That I don’t think my son would walk alone in the dark? Nope, you simply don’t have enough information to draw any conclusion of sexism. And you don’t have enough information to accuse Lemon of racism. Bottom line: It was a thoughtful piece addressed to a specific demographic in crisis. And he preached by example, based on personal experience.
northwest
Pulling up your pants and not showing your underwear won’t do a thing to stop hateful attitudes. You can be the most ‘proper’ black man in the world but you still can be subjected to insults, attacks and racism no matter what your accomplishments and outward appearance. Just ask President Obama.
Bryguyf69
@northwest: That was never the point of the blog. Where did you get the idea that Lemon was trying to “stop hateful attitudes” or prevent, “insults, attacks and racism” in that editorial? Have you even read it? What “pulling up your pants and not showing your underwear” WILL do is to not reinforce negative stereotypes, which is one step to gaining respect. If you were counseling young men seeking a job, regardless of race, would you recommend that they go in with saggy pants and showing their underwear? And I’m talking minimal wage McDonald’s jobs here, not a Wall Street suit-and-tie. Let’s say that the manager was also Black. Given two equally-qualified Black teens, who do you think the manager would hire? Lemon gave the same advice that any high school counselor, job counselor, pastor, parent, etc would give, regardless of race.
craigbrew2
I liked Don when he was a reporter in Chicago but this year has not been his year. I think he is getting caught up in the culture of on the spot journalism. I don’t think he is very good when coming up with questions on the spot and has definitely shown it this year. If Don sticks to the script he is fine. Oh and his commentary on how young black people should behave – I think he was right on the mark. Sorry some don’t like his opinions but the truth hurts. Let’s hope Don reviews his interviews this year and makes a resolution to improve this year.
zoomlens
Don Lemon isn’t a very good journalist, but Queerty is worse. As is too common on the blog, this article completely misrepresents the story it purports to comment on. The CJR didn’t call Lemon the worst journalist of 2014. It identified a number of examples of bad journalism from though out the year. CJR named Rolling Stone, 60 Minutes, Caleb Hannan, TIME, New York Magazine, as well as Breitbart News and FOX AND FRIENDS. Lemon’s gaffes also made the list
Part of the critique of Hannan is that he outed a transgender scientist.
Claims of homophobia and racism against CJR are completely and totally without merit.
Next time guys, read before you bloviate.
enfilmigult
@Bryguyf69: “And did you actually verify that those 8 claims are accurate and taken in context before jumping on the I Hate Don Lemon bandwagon?” – You’re mistakenly assuming I got my entire opinion of Don Lemon from that page, rather than that the page is supporting evidence for my opinion of Don Lemon (but it’s the latter). I appreciate the detail on the black hole question, a moment I didn’t in fact see for myself…but I don’t consider it particularly awesome journalism not to filter viewer questions for being a waste of time—no, not even if they were chosen by the producers. What’s supposed to be so wonderful about sticking to a script so completely that you ask experts a question you know in advance is stupid?
But that one’s not crucial to my opinion anyway. It’s really his questions and advice for women and black men that make him a terrible journalist to me. We know about his personal opinions because he keeps injecting them into his journalistic work, and his personal opinions are clueless. I don’t know about top 10% and wouldn’t claim to know how to rank him against every journalist out there, but I do know he stinks.
@Bryguyf69: “So what exactly was wrong with the blog? The piece consisted of suggestions to Black youths on how to gain respect. Are you saying that saggy pants that expose your undies help the Black community?” – No. I’m saying that what’s wrong with that commentary (it wasn’t a blog entry) was that it blamed high unemployment among black men on sagging pants, use of the N word, littering in black neighborhoods (!) and a heavily disputed statistic about babies being had out of wedlock, and nothing else. The idea that there might be factors at work that can’t be blamed on black men’s allegedly endemic glorification of “prison culture” was not even entertained. (Why black men might even have such a familiarity with “prison culture” was a question left unexplored even after other people on the show brought it up, for instance.) The segment was idiotic when it was Bill O’Reilly’s; it was pretty shocking coming from a black man who said O’Reilly didn’t go far enough.
“As for racism, your conclusion is illogical. He never said that ONLY Blacks should follow those rules.” – It was directed only at black men, implying they’re the only ones who, as a group, need that advice. And he didn’t leave it at implication: yes, there were problems he specifically said were black people problems. Sure, if you asked he’d say white people should follow that advice too, but he’d also say white people already are.
jwtraveler
@Bryguyf69: He’s entitled to his personal opinions, but that’s not journalism.
jwtraveler
@northwest: Short and to the point. Well said.
BTW, why the focus on young black men with saggy pants? Why don’t we hear criticism of young women who walk around with their tits and asses popping out of their clothes and skirts up to their hoo-has? Have you ever seen Sade Baderinwa on WABC News in NYC? She wears sleeveless skin-tight leather dresses to do the news. She looks like a dominatrix. But that’s acceptable because straight men who run the networks and straight male viewers like it.
jwtraveler
@northwest: I forgot to add this “joke”.
Q. What do you call a black man in a 3-piece suit?
A. N***er.
Blackceo
@northwest:
Exactly!!! While I agree with Lemon’s comments on the saggy pants look, it’s not going to matter to some. Bill Cosby took heat for saying similar things about the Black community and while there are white kids who wear the same look, they’re white so the ramifications for their appearance won’t be as bad for people of color. Ya know that whole white privilege thing.
@jwtraveler:
Yup. I’ve had to bust my ass in corporate America and no matter how professional I look, no matter how well spoken I am, and no matter the Ivy League degrees I have, I’ll never be seen as equal to some of my counterparts who don’t even have the same credentials. The looks I get from people who see me for the first time after having only talked to me on the phone just crack me up at this point. i remember walking into a meeting and just about everyone had that look and I was like “yeah Im Black get over it” But appearance does matter and there are plenty of Black people who feel the same about that look. It’s just a nasty, dirty look (although I will admit that as an ass man I will drool at a sagger wearing boxer briefs who has a juicy phat ass). Hopefully Don has a better 2015 because I do think he is an intelligent man who just made a few too many stupid gaffes this year.
northwest
Of course I recognize the importance of dressing appropriately but I just find the issue of clothing and outward appearance a trivial one compared to the more fundamental discussion of racism and what drives people to hate in the first place. Proper attire has never been a ‘cure’ for that and it’s one of the reasons why Don Lemon’s trite admonishments to the African-American community were so galling.
Blackceo
@Blackceo:
True…cuz Martin Luther King wore suits, as did many others in the Civil Rights era and it didnt change the perception at all of those with ra*cist attitudes. Then u have the kind who will be more accepting if u don’t “act Black” I’ve gotten that from people. They’ll be like “well you’re cool cuz u don’t act like most Black guys”. Bitch that’s not a compliment and I’m not here for making u feel like you aren’t r*acist cuz you try to claim me as your token Black friend.
Blackceo
The above should’ve been @northwest. Why they flag for spelling out r*acist makes me question the editors here. I’m giving y’all side eye of life.
northwest
They’ll be like “well you’re cool cuz u don’t act like most Black guys”. Bitch that’s not a compliment and I’m not here for making u feel like you aren’t r*acist cuz you try to claim me as your token Black friend.
THANK YOU! Amazing how some folks don’t realize how insulting the “you don’t ACT black, so now I like you” thing is.
Bryguyf69
@northwest: The sad thing is that the “you don’t ACT black” comment often comes from the Black community itself, usually young Black men. Oprah, Gayle King and Maya Angelou have mentioned being victims with regards to their proper use of English (remember the whole “Ebonics” debate?). James Blake has mentioned it in terms of tennis, and if I’m not mistaken, so has Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena. Jessye Norman faced it because she sang opera, and Neil Degrasse Tyson has talked about it in the Sciences. Even Barack Obama has talked about it. In fact, Lemon had a long panel discussion on the issue. And I know the issue well because my partner was a victim throughout high school and even college, where she was ridiculed by many in her own race for majoring in Classics, and enjoying Shakespeare. For some sad reason, some still see her as betraying Blacks even though she volunteers a lot with Black charities, and a majority of her patients are Black (she took a salary cut to work in AIDS).
Like all minorities, there are valid gripes about discrimination from the outside. But why is internal discrimination, especially reverse discrimination, and self-oppression, not valid topics for PUBLIC discourse? Why are those discussions always met with, “Well, you didn’t mention how Whites are oppressing us!” — as if that’s not already widely acknowledged. That complaint is as valid as the ra-cist complaint that all discussions of slavery must point out that it was Black Africans that first sold the slaves to Europeans.
Lemon, Cosby, Charles Barkley, etc all had focused messages of self-improvement for a specific demographic in crisis. These mini how-to pieces have nothing to do with liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. Yet detractors want to put a political spin on it. Just because they don’t mention the larger issue of societal racism IN A SPECIFIC FORUM doesn’t mean that they don’t acknowledge it — or cite it in other media. Indeed, both Lemon and Barkley have spoken about anti-Black racism extensively. Yet when they criticize their own community, they’re Uncle Toms. As far as I’m concerned, being an intelligent and successful example and role model does more to end racism than saggy pants, gangsta rap, etc. It’s a way to show ra-cists, “See your negative stereotypes are wrong!”
darylsmith
Don Lemon’s race and sexuality has nothing to do with the fact that he is a completely incompetent, deeply insensitive and a complete pathetic excuse for a journalist. It really does reflect a lot into the depth of his character, which is not much.
misterhollywood
I guess I’m one of a few who likes Don Lemon. He’s made mistakes but so has a ton of other reporters. I’m seeing Fox come up a lot here. Why aren’t we talking about those nut jobs? Talk about crappy journalism!
By the way – loving David Muir on ABC!
Matt
CNN isn’t exactly the best place to get your news. Fox News is far superior. But in Lemon’s defense, most of the time he does a good job. Anderson Pooper screws up a lot as well.