Former BET CEO Debra Lee revealed on Good Morning America that she had an affair with BET founder Bob Johnson. Both were married then, but Lee states Johnson threatened her during the affair.
“I wanted to tell that story because power dynamics are so important in a relationship, especially if you’re having a relationship with someone you work for. We all know the potential pitfalls. I worked for Bob Johnson for 10 years before we had a personal, romantic relationship. He was a mentor and he was responsible for a lot of my success. We did have a relationship while we were both married. We ended up both divorced and then people knew about the relationship. The company knew, we started going places together.”
Debra Lee appeared on Good Morning America in the promotion of her new memoir, I Am Debra Lee. She also stated Johnson leveraged his power against her, threatening her job if she left him. Once he left the network, she stated she was able to live her dream “without any form of harassment.”
You can see the full conversation with Robin Roberts below.
