Don Lemon slams CBS News, says Tony Dokoupil's fiery interview with anti-Israel author was ‘good journalism’

Don Lemon tore into CBS News for its handling of Tony Dokoupil's contentious interview with an anti-Israel author. The ex-CNN anchor criticised the network's leadership for forcing the Jewish reporter to meet with the DEI unit after he grilled Ta-Nehsi Coates over his new book, The Message, which addresses the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Don Lemon slams CBS News for reprimanding Tony Dokoupil's fiery interview with anti-Israel author

The 58-year-old journalist condemned CBS for reprimanding the 43-year-old reporter's fiery sit down with Coates. During the interview, Dokoupil, who is a convert to Judaism, told Coates that his book “would not be out of place in the backpack of an extremist” due to its anti-Israel bias.

The controversy erupted when some staffers complained to the network's leadership about Dokoupil's treatment of the American author, according to the New York Times. Following this, he was forced to meet with the CBS News Standards and Practices Team and its Race and Culture Unit.

Reacting to the drama, Lemon slammed the network for its handling of the controversy surrounding Dokoupil, arguing that the interview was an example of “good journalism.” “Stay out of it and let the journalists do the journalism,” he remarked.

“CBS should have responded, saying this is good journalism and this will spark another conversation and this is what we do at CBS News instead of, like, embarrassing their anchor and doing a whole DEI, you know, thing,” Lemon said on his namesake YouTube show.

“They could have handled it in the best way. They could have had the conversation out in the open with the very people who were doing it and then others,” he went on. “Why are the inmates running the asylum?” Lemon continued to say, “[W]hat you do is say, 'this is great. This is what journalism is supposed to be. It's not supposed to be perfect.'”

“Sometimes it's messy. Conversations are messy and often times in those messy conversations, you come to a consensus. Otherwise, if you're afraid to have those conversations and you overcensor them, then you get nothing. What's the point?” he added.

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