Many international television personalities really come out about their true sexuality. Donald Davis Lemon, a CNN presenter known by his stage name Don Lemon, has just joined the league of gay reporters who are not ashamed to go public with what they are. Don made this public in his new book, Transparent, an autobiography in which he describes the trauma he went through as an adolescent child, including sexual abuse, discrimination in the black community, homophobia, and his ongoing alienation from his biological father.
Don is a popular African-American television personality and a professional journalist best known for his show Tonight with Don Lemon on CNN.
Don Lemon Salary and Net Worth
Don Lemon is one of many well-paid television personalities on CNN. According to records, he earns an annual salary of $125,000, and his hard work and dedication have earned him several awards and nominations, including the Emmy Award, which he received for his accurate reporting on the real estate market. Don has been featured in several popular American magazines, we can comfortably say that with his net worth of an enviable $3 million, he is playing in the league of the world’s richest television personalities.
Is He of CNN Gay? Who is The Partner, Boyfriend, or Husband?
In his new book entitled Transparent, Don Lemon, the CNN news anchor/TV personality talks to the public about his life and sexuality, and in an interview with the New York Times, Don admitted to being gay. Through his actions, Don has joined the league of gay television hosts, which includes MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts and Rachel Maddow, as well as countless others. His book was originally intended to be an inspiring work, but as he worked on it, he was motivated to make his sexuality public, and he also discussed his continuing alienation from his father.
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According to Don, his co-workers at CNN have always known about his sexuality, but his new book is just one way to take a step into the public eye. He also believes that you can’t write an inspiring book and hide your identity. The CNN presenter revealed that it was not so easy for him to just wake up and decide to make his sexuality public. He said that at some point he became very afraid and almost deleted the part of his book that talked about his sexuality because he knew that people could avoid him for that, especially the black community. He concluded with the remark that it would be really great if every gay man would openly admit his sexuality. He used himself as an example, saying that if he had seen more people who turned out to be gay, it wouldn’t have taken him 45 years to do so.
Don’s personal incidents in life were really hard, he experienced several hardships, and being sexually abused as a child was one of them. According to him, when he was eight years old, he was sexually abused by a male neighbor. He made the announcement at an on-air conference among Bishop Eddie Long’s parishioners on September 25, 2010. The CNN presenter faced a number of controversies following his proclamation as a homosexual. He spoke about how he was treated in his early days, the harsh discrimination that was widespread among blacks, the homophobia, and the misery he experienced because he did not dare tell his mother the truth for the first thirty years of his life. Finally, he had the courage to tell his family about his sexuality and they have already accepted it, and after he went public with his gay status, he seems to have become the new gay role model.
As far as his marital status and his relationships are concerned, there was a rumor for a while that the CNN personality was married to Stephanie Ortiz, but this information has remained a rumor for a long time since it has not been confirmed by any of the parties involved, and since Don Lemon has publicly declared himself to be gay, the information seems very far from the truth. The news that is more credible is that the presenter is married to his friend John Byrne, who is a choreographer.
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In 2017, the rumor circulated that Don Lemon was with Tim Malone, a sales rep, and the duo was pictured together holding hands in public.
