According to The New York Times, several staff members complained to higher-ups about Dokoupil’s tough line of questioning. In response, CBS required Dokoupil to meet with both the network’s editorial standards team and the Race and Culture Unit to address the concerns raised by his coworkers.

In response to this corporate handling, Lemon didn’t hold back. On his YouTube show, he accused CBS of mishandling the situation by bowing to internal pressure rather than defending Dokoupil’s journalistic integrity.

“CBS should have said, ‘This is good journalism,’” Lemon argued, suggesting that the network should have celebrated the interview as an example of sparking important conversations. “Instead of, like, embarrassing their anchor and doing a whole DEI, you know, thing.”