UPDATED 3:02 p.m. ET
In a CNN segment Wednesday, Don Lemon addressed controversial comments he made while interviewing a woman who had accused Bill Cosby of rape.
"As I am a victim myself, I would never want to suggest any victim could have prevented a rape," he said. "If my question to her struck anyone as insensitive, I am sorry, as that certainly was not my intention."
Lemon revealed he was sexually abused as a child in a 2010 interview.
The anchor came under fire after suggesting in an interview Tuesday that Joan Tarshis, who claims Bill Cosby assaulted her twice in 1969, could have prevented her assault.
Tarshis was recounting her experiences to Lemon when he began to press for more intimate details. Lemon apologized for being "crude," and proceeded to ask Tarshis about her allegation that Cosby forced her to perform oral sex.
"You know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you didn't want to do it," he said. Lemon later specified that he meant "the using of the teeth."
Here's the full exchange:
LEMON: Can I ask you this, and please, I don't mean to be crude, OK?
TARSHIS: Yeah.
LEMON: Because I know some of you, and you said this last night, that he -- you lied to him and said, "I have an infection, and if you rape me, or if you do, if you have intercourse with me, then you will probably get it and give it to your wife."
TARSHIS: Right.
LEMON: And you said he made you perform oral sex.
TARSHIS: Right.
LEMON: You know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you didn't want to do it.
TARSHIS: Oh. I was kind of stoned at the time, and quite honestly, that didn't even enter my mind. Now I wish it would have.
LEMON: Meaning the using of the teeth, right?
TARSHIS: Mmhmm. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking you're --
LEMON: As a weapon.
TARSHIS: Yeah, I didn't even think of it.
LEMON: Biting.
TARSHIS: Ouch.
LEMON: I had to ask.
TARSHIS: No, it didn't cross my mind.
Twitter users expressed their disgust at Lemon's rape-prevention advice with the hashtag #DonLemonReporting, which has been used in the past to poke fun at Lemon's reporting missteps.
At least Bill Cosby didn't get them pregnant #DonLemonReporting pic.twitter.com/pCFd1qiSQW— Black Dynamite (@BlackDynamite) November 19, 2014
If you can't run away fast enough, you probably deserve to be endangered. Lesson to all the animals out there. #DonLemonReporting— Richard Hernandez (@richrdhernandez) November 19, 2014
"I dont know why you think my idea that Poland could have 'just moved' in 1939 is so absurd." #DonLemonReporting— Oliver Willis (@owillis) November 19, 2014
But did the towers make any attempt to avoid the planes? #DonLemonReporting— Dr. Feelfine (@ChristianLipski) November 19, 2014
Tarshis is one of 14 women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault. Many of the accusations against him go back decades, but resurfaced after comedian Hannibal Buress addressed them during a performance this month. Cosby has refused to comment on the allegations.