CNN host Don Lemon allegedly made threatening texts against ex-CNN correspondent Kyra Phillips back when she was his colleague, according to a new bombshell report by Variety magazine.

Back in 2008, Lemon was reportedly unhappy with the fact that Phillips got assigned to cover Iraq. At their shared news pod, Lemon allegedly tore up notes and also sent threatening texts to her from a burner phone. One of those texts reportedly read, “Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it,” according to Variety. The anonymous number was later traced back to Lemon by CNN authorities.

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A CNN spokesperson has refuted the Variety report on behalf of Lemon. “The story, which is riddled with patently false anecdotes and no concrete evidence, is entirely based on unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip. It’s amazing and disappointing that Variety would be so reckless,” the statement said.

Who is Kyra Phillips?

Kyra Phillips was born on August 8, 1968, in Jacksonville, Illinois. She currently works as a correspondent for ABC News.

She graduated from Helix High School Phillips and went onto earn a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California. Her career started as anweekend anchor and reporter for WLUK-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She then moveed on to WDSU-TV in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1994.

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In 1999, Phillips joined CNN. In2001 Phillips was able to access the U.S. Navy Air Wing CVW-9 as they prepared for the war in Afghanistan. She also spent about a month on a television documentary in Antarctica. She reported from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2006, Phillips was the last journalist to fly in U.S. Navy’s F-14 Tomcat before its was retired from service.

Phillips left CNN to join ABC News as a “D.C.-based correspondent” on April 2, 2018.