CNN ANCHOR ADMITS: I’m Gay!

Although many quietly made assumptions regarding his sexuality since he joined the network in 2007, it wasn’t until a recent autobiography removed all doubt for one CNN anchor.

Don Lemon, the African-American weekend prime-time anchor for CNN and now author of the book “Transparent,” has joined a relatively small list of high profile journalists who have chosen to publicly acknowledge they are gay.  Although Lemon never made his sexual orientation a secret in the workplace, since many of his CNN co-workers and bosses have long been aware that he is gay, he still believes that going public in his book carries unknown risks.  “I’m scared,” he said in a recent interview. “I’m talking about something that people might shun me for, ostracize me for.”

So what exactly prompted the television anchor to come out now?  Lemon said he was on a panel a few years ago called “The Black Man in the Age of Obama,” and was approached afterward by a publisher about writing an inspirational book. But as he began to write, he realized he could not hold back the truth of who he was. Thoughts of how he grew up not knowing his father and how he had suffered sexual abuse by someone close to him, prompted him to pour out the most intimate details of his personal life.

“I think if I had seen more people like me who are out and proud, it wouldn’t have taken me 45 years to say it, to walk in the truth.”

Here is what Lemon had to say in a statement released yesterday:

“Today I chose to step out on faith and begin openly living my own truth. And let me say right up front that I hope many of you will be inspired to do the same thing in your daily lives. Some of the things I’ve chosen to reveal in my book Transparent were very difficult to share with even those closest to me.

There was a time when I was terrified of revealing these things to the person I love most in this world – my own mother. But when I finally mustered the courage to tell her that I had been molested as a child and that I was born gay, my life began to change in positive ways that I never imagined possible. Yet I still chose to keep those secrets hidden from the world. I, like most gay people, lived a life of fear. Fear that if some employers, co-workers, friends, neighbors and family members learned of my sexuality, I would be shunned, mocked and ostracized. It is a burden that millions of people carry with them every single day. And sadly, while the mockery and ostracizing are realized by millions of people every day, I truly believe it doesn’t have to happen and that’s why I feel compelled to share what I’ve written in Transparent.

As a journalist I believe that part of my mission is to shed light onto dark places. So, the disclosure of this information does not inhibit in any way my ability to be the professional, fair and objective journalist I have always been.

My book is dedicated to the memory of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, who jumped to his death from a bridge after his dorm mates streamed his private business over the Internet for the world to see. Tyler might still be with us today if more gay men and women had chosen to live proudly and openly. It is also dedicated to the millions of young, gay people who believe they are alone when dealing with their own sexual identities. You are not alone! There are people, like me and many others, who are thriving in their personal and professional lives and although we sometimes have a hard time with it ourselves, we are here to show you by example that you too can overcome any obstacle as long as you stay strong and, most of all, stay alive.”

With love and honesty,
Don Lemon
May 16, 2011