CNN urged to fire Don Lemon over claim he tipped off Jussie Smollett 

CNN has come under pressure to fire Don Lemon after it was revealed he contacted former Empire star Jussie Smollett to tell him Chicago police didn't believe his  story.

Smollett, who is gay, testified in court Monday that the CNN anchor sent him a text message warning the 39-year-old actor that detectives didn't believe his tale of being been beaten in the middle of the night by two white men wearing MAGA hats during a homophobic attack in 2019.

Lemon, 55, didn't mention the revelation on his show Monday night and remained mum about the explosive claim during another segment about the trial on Tuesday.

Lemon, who is also gay, did not respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment.

Republican activist Jack Posobiec accused Lemon of 'obstructing justice' after pulling up a 2019 tweet where the anchor said he had talked to Smollett 'every day' following the attack.

'Today we found out Don Lemon was helping Jussie obstruct justice,' he tweeted on Tuesday.

Author Nick Adams also slammed CNN for not firing the anchor 'immediately.'

'If Don Lemon tipped off Jussie Smollett about police investigating the hate crime hoax, CNN should fire him immediately!'

The calls to dismiss the host of CNN's 10 pm show, Don Lemon Tonight, come less than a week after CNN fired Chris Cuomo, another primetime host, for advising his brother Governor Andrew Cuomo in his sex pest scandal, crafting statements for him and using his journalistic sources to investigate some of his accusers.

CNN dragged its heels in disciplining Cuomo, despite a swell of public outcry, before eventually firing him on Saturday.

Tim Young, a comedian and columnist for the Washington Times, wrote: 'After Jussie Smollett's testimony that Don Lemon tipped him off to the Chicago PD not believing his story...he should be the next to get tanked from CNN...'

Former Department of Defense Intelligence Operative and New York Times Bestselling Author Tony Shaffer also accused Lemon of doing what 'Chris Cuomo did.'

'Really, @donlemon? Did you do for @JussieSmollett what @ChrisCuomo did for his sexual assaulting brother @andrewcuomo?'

Lemon told his viewers after the incident occurred that he was in constant communication with Smollett because the story was 'personal' to him since the pair were friends.

He claimed the actor was 'innocent until proven guilty' and will have 'squandered the go... (Read more)

Latest News