CNN anchor Don Lemon, who became the
third openly gay high-profile news personality behind MSNBC's Rachel
Maddow and Thomas Roberts on Monday, says closeted journalists are
“dishonest.”
On Sunday, Lemon told the New York
Times that he's gay, ahead of the release of his upcoming
264-page memoir titled Transparent, in which he talks about
his experience. The book is now available for pre-order at
Amazon.com.
He told HLN's Joy Behar that his
decision to come out gay was influenced by Tyler Clementi's suicide.
Clementi is the 18-year-old gay Rutgers
University student who jumped off the George Washington Bridge to his
death after learning that his roommate, Dharun Ravi, had secretly
streamed live video of him having sex with another man onto the
Internet. Ravi
faces 15 charges, including bias intimidation, and witness and
evidence tampering. A second student, Molly Wei, has been
charged with invading Clementi's privacy.
“If I had had someone like me who had
chosen to live their lives out and proud, there would be no need for
the Tyler Clementis of the world or teenagers to want to kill
themselves because they are concerned about their sexuality,” Lemon
said.
When
media website Gawker.com asked the 45-year-old anchor, “Do you
think that other anchors and journalists in the closet need to come
out?” Lemon answered: “I don't think anyone needs to do anything
they don't want to do. I think it would be great if they did. I'm not
walking in anyone's shoes and I don't know what their experience is,
but I think there is a degree of deception in silence. Having gone to
the other side, it's easy for me to say that. Just a few days ago I
may have felt different. I respect anyone else's choice, but, again,
I equate it to people who used to pass for white during the civil
rights movement. It's disingenuous and dishonest and you should live
in truth and give a hand to people who are struggling and help pull
them up rather turning your back on them.”
He also told the site that he's in a
4-year relationship but added that “this is about me at the
moment.”