Don Lemon is no stranger to controversy, but his latest declaration has reignited one of the oldest and thorniest debates in LGBTQ+ activism: should public figures who secretly engage in same-sex relationships while legislating against queer rights be outed?
In a fiery social media post, the former CNN anchor—long known for speaking his mind—announced he’s ready to expose closeted Republican lawmakers who attack LGBTQ+ freedoms in public but live different lives behind closed doors. “If you’re a hypocrite, I’m gonna out you,” he said. The remark struck a nerve across political and cultural lines, sparking outrage, applause, and a familiar unease about how far activism should go in the name of justice.
Let’s be clear: the impulse behind Lemon’s statement isn’t new. In the 1970s, Harvey Milk famously urged gay people to come out, insisting that visibility was the key to liberation. His belief was that once society realized that queer people were neighbors, friends, and family—not abstract “others”—hate would lose its power. Decades later, that logic still resonates, particularly when the people enforcing anti-gay laws are themselves hiding in the closet.
The moral calculus becomes complicated, however, when the act of “outing” shifts from personal liberation to public shaming. On one side are those who see outing as an ethical necessity—a way to expose the hypocrisy of powerful individuals who use their influence to harm the very community they secretly belong to. On the other side are those who argue that sexuality is personal, and that no one, regardless of power or politics, should have that privacy violated.
Lemon’s argument hinges on hypocrisy. If a senator votes to restrict same-sex marriage while privately using dating apps for men, he’s not just living a lie—he’s legislating one. Outing in that context, advocates say, isn’t cruelty; it’s accountability. It forces a reckoning with the duplicity that sustains systemic discrimination.
But accountability can easily tip into vengeance. There’s a fine line between exposing wrongdoing and turning personal pain into spectacle. When outing becomes a public sport—when social media users gleefully speculate about who’s next—it risks dehumanizing everyone involved, including the queer people it claims to defend.
Privacy, after all, is a cornerstone of dignity, and even hypocrites are human beings.
That said, hypocrisy in positions of power is not a private matter—it’s a public betrayal. Legislators who campaign against LGBTQ+ rights while hiding their own sexuality aren’t merely struggling with identity; they’re weaponizing their shame. Their votes have consequences: trans kids lose healthcare, teachers are silenced, drag performers are criminalized. For those who suffer the fallout, the debate about privacy can feel like a luxury reserved for the oppressors.
Perhaps the real question isn’t whether Lemon should out anyone, but why outing still feels like the only tool left to expose hypocrisy. In a world where many voters know queer people personally and still support anti-gay policies, empathy has lost some of its power. Outing, then, becomes a blunt-force substitute for moral persuasion—a desperate attempt to reveal the truth that kindness couldn’t.
Lemon’s threat also speaks to a deeper frustration in the queer community: that visibility alone hasn’t brought equality. Decades after Stonewall, queer people are still fighting for basic safety and representation. Watching closeted lawmakers exploit their proximity to power while condemning others for being themselves is not just infuriating—it’s intolerable.
Still, we should tread carefully. History reminds us that the politics of exposure can quickly erode the very freedoms activists seek to protect. The right to privacy is essential, even sacred. But so is the right to live without oppression from those who lie about who they are to preserve their privilege.
Maybe the answer lies somewhere in the messy middle. Outing, as a tactic, shouldn’t be wielded carelessly or cruelly—but when deception becomes legislation, when hypocrisy becomes harm, silence is complicity. Lemon’s warning may not be pretty, but perhaps it’s the jolt that some powerful hypocrites need to hear.
Because in the end, the real outrage isn’t that Don Lemon might out a few closeted politicians. The real outrage is that those politicians continue to build careers by denying others the very freedom they themselves are too afraid to claim.
Rob Shuter is a celebrity journalist, talk-show host, and former publicist who has represented stars including Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Kate Spade, Diddy, Jon Bon Jovi, Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Jessica Simpson, and HRH Princess Michael of Kent. He is the author of The 4 Word Answer, a bestselling self-help book blending Hollywood stories with personal breakthroughs. Rob hosts Naughty But Nice with Rob, a top 20 iTunes podcast, and was the only entertainment columnist at The Huffington Post. A veteran of PR and magazines, he also helmed OK! Magazine. Read his latest exclusives at robshuter.substack.com
My god, angry Don Lemon (who happily goes home to his white husband btw) is now doing nothing short of revenge porn/blackmailing people if they don’t go along with HIS personal ideology. Have we really gone that far down the slippery slope as a community this is viewed as acceptable?
Don, the same guy who was sued for sexual assault and battery, now takes it upon himself to be the moral gay arbiter of all that is well and good? Me thinks Mr. Lemon best read the room again and sit down before he makes a complete ass out of himself (if that’s even possible) and does further damage to the community.
Before being elevated to Speaker, Mike Johnson & wife ran a religious site that one of it’s main purposes was to deny equality to the LGBTQ+ population. Once Speaker, they scrubbed the site away. But, it still lives of course. Any politician who actively works to deny equality deserves to be outed. Other groups would do the same.
Outing is not now, nor has it ever been, about “personal liberation.”
This column confuses “coming out” withe “outing, ” but they are two entirely different actions.
A few years ago, I’d have said absolutely not! But now, I’m all for it. And this is coming from someone who was dragged out of the closet in middle school and never had the choice of coming out. I know the damage it can cause.But right now, I’m all for it.
Out them!
Let me just say, the other side DOES NOT PLAY fair, and is quick to play the victim when outed, and yet they will still pass legislation that will harm my (gay) marriage, and what, are we supposed to simply standby and left them walk all over us? They did it in the 50’s to the late 90’s without any repercussions; so now it’s time for their side to experience what it’s like to walk a hundred miles in our (worn torn) shoes. Kid gloves off, you wanna hide in the shadows, then be ready for the light that may shine down and expose you for the hypocrites that you are.
Well said!
You are correct
One word: Yes!