Don Lemon comes out: is it okay not to care?

Before last night I cannot recall having ever heard the name Don Lemon. That all changed when I read Mediaite Political Editor Tommy Christopher's write-up of Lemon's announcement that he is a homosexual. Christopher reported, "In a Twitter posting to his 89,805 followers Sunday night, CNN anchor Don Lemon linked to a New York Times story that reveals he is gay, and thanked his followers in advance for their support." Now I do know who Don Lemon is, but only as a man who decided to open his bedroom door to anyone within range of his twitter feed or a copy of The New York Times.

I know that I'm supposed to find Mr. Lemon's public proclamation of his sexual orientation to be "courageous", as Tommy suggests he does later in his write-up. But the God's honest truth is that I just don't care. Worst of all, I can't help that I don't care. To be frank, I find these sort of high profile "outings" to be increasingly gratuitous. I don't mean to impugn the motives of Mr. Lemon, and I'm sure there was great difficulty in announcing publicly what his co-workers at CNN already knew privately, but his announcement conveniently precedes the release of his book which is slated to hit shelves on June 16th. That sort of timing would set off alarm bells under normal circumstances. I'm sure whatever difficulties Mr. Lemon faces will be cushioned by an increase in book sales.

There was a time when saying that you don't care about someone's sexual orientation, would have been viewed as an indication of a tolerant attitude. There was a time when even positive reaction could draw criticism, as it could be interpreted as condescension. I get the impression now though that indifference has in and of itself become the new sin. If this is indeed the case, I'm proud to stand up and say guilty as charged.

If I ever get around to watching CNN I'll judge Mr. Lemon on the quality of his reporting, just as I would have before his announcement. In the end, Lemon doesn't need my approval, and I hardly think he'll lament my lack of celebration.

Nick Rizzuto it the producer of The S.E. Cupp Show. You can watch The S.E. Cupp show at 1pm on Insider Extreme. Follow on Twitter @Nick_Rizzuto.