I Don't Mean to Be Crude': CNN Anchor's Suggestion to Cosby Rape Accuser Has Him Facing Big Backlash

CNN's Don Lemon is getting a big Twitter backlash after suggesting to a Bill Cosby rape accuser she could have fended off forced oral sex by using her teeth.

Joan Tarshis claimed Cosby drugged and raped her twice in 1969 when she was a 19-year-old aspiring actress, according to a Hollywood Elsewhere story published Sunday. Hers is among the latest in a cluster of rape allegations against the iconic comedian and actor.

In a face-to-face interview with Tarshis on Tuesday night, Lemon prefaced his suggestion, saying, "Can I ask you this? And please, I don't mean to be crude, OK?"

After confirming with Tarshis her claim that Cosby made her perform oral sex on him, Lemon said, "You know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you didn't want to do it."

Tarshis countered that she was "kind of stoned at the time, and quite honestly that didn't even enter my mind. Now I wish it would have."

"Meaning the using of the teeth, right?" Lemon asked.

"Yes," Tarshis said. "I didn't even think of it."

"Biting," Lemon said.

"Ouch," she replied.

"Yes," Lemon concluded. "I had to ask."

(H/T: Gawker)