Former CNN anchor Don Lemon claimed that he was sexually “harassed by women and men” at his workplace.

Appearing on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, Lemon, who worked at CNN from 2006 to 2023, opened up about his time at the broadcaster. He was let go by CNN in April 2023, three years before his contract was set to expire.

“I have been harassed by women and men in the work. And some things are not even…it is ridiculous,” Lemon said. “Now look, there are some things that are really egregious, but not everything is Harvey Weinstein-level.”

He described an incident that took place in the cafeteria at the Atlanta office of CNN during which an unnamed “young lady” allegedly tweaked Lemon’s nipples and said: “Oh, it’s cold in here!”

“I said, ‘OK, you realise if I did that they’d be walking me out the door right now?’” the former anchor said, “But I didn’t care to go to HR. I didn’t say anything because I was just like, it’s a double standard, it’s fine.”

The Independent has contacted CNN for comment.

Lemon recounted another incident of a senior female colleague harassing him. “I’ve never told this story as well. Someone who I worked with also harassed me at CNN and I never went to management. She knew I was gay, and it was just bizarre. She was going through a divorce. It was just weird,” he said.

“And I never went to management. First of all, I thought, like, OK, they may find a way to get rid of me because if I told this story, I don’t know if they are going to believe me or not. But then she was so mean to me after that, I was like, ‘I should’ve told the story.’ But yeah, I’ve been harassed by men and women.”

Asked for details about what “constituted this harassment”, Lemon said the incident took place off company property when he attended business events with the colleague.

“Remember, this was a while ago, and there was no Uber or anything like that. If you’re in Atlanta, the taxis aren’t available,” he said.

“And so you say, ‘Hey, we have had a couple drinks, do you mind if I like’ … ‘No, no, no, don’t go home, stay in the guest room.’ That sort of thing.”

Lemon said the colleague was “so mean to me afterward” but he never spoke up because he believed the power structures were different for men and women.

“I’m an adult, and maybe I think it is different for men and women, depending on the power structure. I think it’s flattering as long as you can send them off easily. As a man, I could say, ‘No, I’m not interested.’”

Lemon has previously opened up about being a survivor of sexual harassment as a child, revealing it first in 2010 while interviewing members of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church and then writing about it in his 2011 memoir Transparent.

He drew a distinction between that episode and his experiences of workplace harassment. “But, also, someone who was molested as a child is a different thing, because you know how to deal with it, and you know what’s really important or not,” he said.

“And you know, like, who has the power. I figure as a man, I have the power to say, ‘I don’t want to.’ I don’t need to go to HR or ruin your career. I just tell you, ‘I’m not interested in this. You were drunk. We had a couple of drinks or whatever. Let’s let it go.’”