Jussie Smollett Convicted, But Not Before Annoying Don Lemon

By Flo Anthony

2 minute 12/14/2021

Jussie Smollett (left), Don Lemon (right)

Former Empire star Jussie Smollett was convicted in a Chicago, Illinois courtroom on December 9 of five counts of disorderly conduct for lying to Chicago police officers in 2019 when he claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic assault. So what does this have to do with Sag Harbor’s Don Lemon?

According to reports, Lemon is being criticized by several people after Smollett testified in his own defense on December 6 that the CNN anchor texted him to tell him that Chicago police did not believe his story — that two supposed outspoken Trump supporters beat him up, poured an unknown chemical substance on him (most likely bleach) and tied a noose around his neck while yelling racist and homophobic slurs, as well as the phrase “MAGA country,” referring to Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

Lemon, who previously said on television that he texted Smollett “every day” after the attack, now feels his confidence was betrayed by Smollett mentioning him under oath. On December 9, during his CNN show Don Lemon Tonight, Lemon called Smollett a “liar and someone who had made it far harder for real victims of hate crimes to come forward.”