Don Lemon has addressed the critics who had something to say about his interracial marriage to his longtime partner, real estate agent ,Tim Malone.
On Friday, Lemon was a guest on Dishin' It With Justin Carter where he reflected on the shade he's gotten from people who weren't accepting of his marriage to Malone. According to Lemon, no one can speak about who he decides to marry.
"I don't know if I get offended but I do think it's ignorant yes and I know that it hurts him," Lemon told Carter when asked if he gets offended when the race of his partner comes up. "To me it's just ignorance actually. You love who you love. You fall in love with who you fall in love with. Had I fallen in love with a black man, I would've married a black man. Had I fallen in love with an Asian man I would've married an Asian man."
He continued, "It just so happens I fell in love with him and that's who I married and that's it. People should be able to love who they love. I'm not in anybody's business. I didn't tell my momma who she should marry. I didn't tell my sister who she should marry and no one should be telling me who I should marry. People who have been discriminated against should know better."
Lemon, 58, and Malone, 40, started dating in 2016 and announced they were engaged in 2019. They eventually tied the knot on April 6, 2024 in a New York City wedding. In 2021, Lemon told PEOPLE Magazine how Malone was the "one" for him.
"I just found the right person … Someone who really believes in family, and I decided, you know, I need to lean into my life because I grew up never thinking that I'd be able to be open about who I was in love with and about my love life and my relationship," said Lemon.
The former CNN anchor revealed in March that a sit-down interview with X CEO Elon Musk was supposed to turn into a partnership with the social media platform, but the deal fell through.
