CNN Anchor Don Lemon: I'm Gay

Phoenix Suns CEO Rick Welts comes out as well
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted May 16, 2011 9:40 AM CDT
CNN Anchor Don Lemon and Phoenix Suns President and CEO Rick Welts Come Out as Gay
CNN anchor Don Lemon and Usher at Powered By Service Day on August 5, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia.   (Getty Images)

Don Lemon, CNN's weekend prime-time anchor, is joining a tiny group of media members: those who are openly gay. Lemon, 45, officially comes out in his new book Transparent, though many of his colleagues have long known about his sexual orientation. “I’m scared,” he tells the New York Times. “I’m talking about something that people might shun me for, ostracize me for.”

Lemon, who also reveals suffering childhood sex abuse in the book, adds that he faces an especially difficult road as an African-American man. Gay is "about the worst thing you can be in black culture," he says, adding, “I guess this makes me a double minority now.” Despite his fears, Lemon is confident in his decision. "I think if you’re going to be in the business of news, and telling people the truth, of trying to shed light in dark places, then you’ve got to be honest," he says. Also in today's Times, a story about Rick Welts, president and CEO of the Phoenix Suns, who also recently came out. (More Don Lemon stories.)

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