Relating to the powers that be and what he sees as their continued persecution of queer and different marginalized communities, Don Lemon has some recommendation: “Punch them within the nostril.”
Whereas strolling the purple carpet on Thursday, March 5, on the thirty seventh annual GLAAD Awards on the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, the 60-year-old veteran journalist, who was attending as a presenter, spoke with Out journal about how individuals ought to deal with what he referred to as immediately’s “bullies.”
“Don’t be afraid. They need you to be afraid. The way in which that you just fight a bully is to face as much as them. The metaphorical factor is to punch them within the nostril. If somebody is attempting to intimidate you, you need to take a stand and present them you’re not afraid,” Lemon advised the outlet.
His feedback come on the heels of a high-profile arrest after masking an ICE protest in a church in Minneapolis in January. Lemon and a number of other different reporters, together with a number of Black journalists, have been detained regardless of the First Modification protections afforded to the press.
“I do know that folk assume I’m courageous. I don’t know what meaning. I’m simply doing what I imagine is true,” Lemon stated of the dialog surrounding the arrest. “The First Modification is extraordinarily essential to me. It’s the bedrock of our Structure. With out the First Modification, which incorporates the liberty of the press, the whole lot else crumbles.”
He added a reminder for all journalists, however particularly queer journalists of coloration, that their job is protected by the U.S. Structure.
“Stand in that and simply do your factor,” he inspired. “Be robust. Be wonderful. Work onerous and be fearless. Keep in mind, a part of it’s reporting on what is going on with out concern or favor.”
Whereas the awards ceremony occurred earlier this month, followers can watch it on Hulu starting March 21.
