Ex-CNN anchor Don Lemon ripped CBS News leadership for forcing one of its anchors to meet with the “DEI” unit after staffers complained he was too tough on an anti-Israel journalist.
CBS News faced backlash after “CBS Mornings” anchor Tony Dokoupil grilled journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates on a section of his new book, “The Message,” which addresses the Israel-Palestine conflict. Dokoupil raised concerns about anti-Israel bias in the book and questioned whether he believed Israel had “a right to exist.”
According to The New York Times, some of Dokoupil’s colleagues complained to network leadership afterward about his handling of the interview. The Jewish anchor was forced to meet with both the CBS News standards and practices team as well as the Race and Culture Unit.
CBS executives reassured offended staffers that the interview did not meet the company’s “editorial standards,” according to audio obtained by the Free Press.
Lemon responded to the saga on his YouTube show this week, arguing that corporate leaders should not have treated Dokoupil that way and should’ve instead commended the interview as an example of “good journalism.”
“CBS should have responded, saying this is good journalism and this will spark another conversation and this is what we do at CBS News instead of, like, embarrassing their anchor and doing a whole DEI, you know, thing,” Lemon said.