CNN’s Don Lemon recently showed how not to give an interview involving a sensitive subject and it’s victim.
When speaking with Joan Tarshis, the latest women to come out with allegations against Bill Cosby for rape, Lemon basically asks why she allowed her self to be taken advantage of. Either disregarding or completely forgetting what the very definition of what rape is. I was surprised at how Lemon’s “awkwardness”, to say the least, didn’t create more of a response from Tarshis.
If you can’t watch the interview, I’ve provided the transcript below:
Lemon: “Can I ask you this? And please, I don’t mean to be crude, ok?”
Tarshis: “Yeah.”
Lemon: “You said this last night, that he…you lied to him and said, ‘I have an infection, and if you rape me, or if you do — if you have intercourse with me, then you will probably get it and give it to your wife.'”
Tarshis: “Right.”
Lemon: “You said he made you perform oral sex.”
Tarshis: “Right.”
Lemon: “You…you know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you didn’t want to do it.”
Tarshis: “I was kind of stoned at the time, and quite honestly, that didn’t even enter my mind. Now I wish it would have.”
Lemon: “Right. Meaning the using of the teeth, right?”
Tarshis: “Yes…I didn’t even think of it.”
Lemon: “Biting.”
Tarshis: “Ouch.”
Lemon: “Yes. I had to ask.”
What could have been an educational, insightful and truly enlightening interview, simply turned into a lot of uh huh’s and mhmmm’s. With plenty of weird, awkward face scrunching and Lemon seemingly oblivious, to his own awkwardness or general “did he really just say?” atmosphere he created. This is very much a cringe worthy interview and a prime example of why you should think, before you speak. It even sparked hashtag trend on Twitter, titled #DonLemonReporting.