Don Lemon Under Fire For Not Mentioning His Role In Jussie Smollett Case

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 20223.5K Views

Smollett testified that Don Lemon tipped him off after filing his police report.

Jussie Smollett's trial is currently underway. As expected, there have been plenty of twists and turns during witness testimonies, including Smollett's. However, Don Lemon's coverage on his CNN program stirred up a discourse on social media this morning.

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Smollett mentioned Don Lemon during his testimony when he claimed that the CNN anchor aided him after filing his police report. Smollett explained that it was Lemon who told him that Chicago PD wasn't convinced of his story. Lemon and Omar Jimenez discussed the trial at length during a 5-minute segment on CNN, though no mention of Lemon's involvement was mentioned.

Users were quick to question Lemon's journalistic integrity in this situation since he had failed to disclose his involvement in the case. A report from Fox News correspondent stated that "Smollett testified during investigation he got a text from Don Lemon — saying CPD didn’t believe him."

This is yet another blow to the integrity of yet another CNN anchor. Over the weekend, it was announced that Chris Cuomo was fired from the network after further investigation into his involvement in the sexual assault allegations against his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

As for Jussie Smollett, the closing arguments in his case are set to begin on Wednesday. We'll keep you posted on anymore updates surrounding the outcome of Smollett's trial.

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.

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