Don Lemon, an African-American anchor on the Cable News Network, is the target of a new online petition on the change.org website, where “a man of God and a man of the people” is calling for CNN to “remove” the gay host from its line-up, accumulated almost 33,000 signatures in just three days.
The new drive -- with a goal of 35,000 supporters -- was started on Tuesday, when black entertainer Jamell Henderson claimed that Lemon “has consistently antagonized and defamed the characteristics of African-Americans on the national scale in his mass communications instead of [stating] the obvious: the challenges that face African-Americans are real and that solutions need to be found.”
Henderson also noted:
Lemon has repeatedly failed to fulfill his responsibility to remain objective and unbiased in his work. As a news anchor, Mr. Lemon’s job is to present the facts to the public, but time and time again, he has presented his opinion as fact -- even when that opinion is contradicted by reality and common sense. That’s unacceptable for a journalist.
I know that for his field, it wasn't easy to get his name out there, but that he worked hard every day to get to where he is at right now. But what concerns me is that Lemon has repeatedly failed to fulfill his responsibility to remain objective and unbiased in his work.
He also criticized Lemon for “the holding of the 'N'-word sign before the national audience to disrespecting the mayor of Baltimore to his most recent comments of the unfortunate incident where a student was removed from her chair like a rag doll by a police officer.”
Nevertheless, “Mr. Lemon and I have some things in common. We are both African-American men who graduated from Brooklyn College and care deeply about public affairs.”
“I’m disappointed that someone I used to look up to now is someone that I have trouble respecting as a journalist,” Henderson continued.
“Mr. Lemon has failed his responsibility because he seems to forget the true essence of journalism: to call the news how you see it and not judge, defame or antagonize,” he continued.
“We, the people,” Henderson stated, “want a journalist and an anchor that will not be afraid to accept the facts that are occurring within the African-American community and who will encourage our people the same way that person will encourage others across the board."
“We, the people, have no confidence in Mr. Lemon's ability to do that,” he concluded. “Therefore, we are asking CNN to remove him from his position.”
However, Henderson's petition isn't the only drive demanding that CNN drop Lemon. Patrick Harris of Southfield, Michigan, has a petition of his own on the change.org site.
Harris began by stating “I will keep this short” and noting: “Over the past few years, America and the rest of the world has experienced the painful consequences of Don Lemon's ignorance. We have also listened to and read the continuous apologies that are followed by more offensive comments.”
He added:
When interviewing a Bill Cosby rape survivor, he did the unspeakable. He told the survivor: "You -- you know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you didn't want to do it." After the survivor told Lemon that she was “stoned,” he told her that she should've used her teeth.
His comment is a scary but common narrative that makes sexual assault and rape survivors not want to report and speak out in the first place. It also perpetuates rape culture. If Don Lemon doesn't know how to conduct interviews professionally and in a manner that is sensitive, then he should not be on air.
“Don Lemon is guilty of many accounts of attempting to portray black people in a negative light in times of racially motivated injustice,” Harris stated.
“Lemon goes out of his way to use his international platform to shame and stereotype black people,” he noted before indicating that Lemon rarely apologizes for his controversial comments.
“Don Lemon is a newscaster on a respected news network,” he indicated. “It is a newscaster’s job primarily to report the facts and conduct constructive discourse. However, Don Lemon perpetuates current institutional structures that marginalize women and people of color.”
“When Don Lemon comes on television, I immediately change the channel,” Harris asserted. “His track record has destroyed his trust with viewers across the country and the world.”
He summarized his comments by stating: “Lemon has no place on a news network. Please, spare the American people and the rest of the world by removing him from CNN.”
