Debra Lee Drops A Cup Full Of Tea About Her Extra Marital Affair With Bob Johnson Of BET

Debra Lee is using her adulterous relationship with Bob Johnson, the founder of BET, as a lesson for working-class women in America.

Once Johnson stepped down as CEO in 2005, Lee ran the multibillion dollar business for more than ten years. She worked with the Black media pioneer for 20 years.

Yet in her most recent book, “I Am Debra Lee,” she talked openly about the difficulties she ran across after falling for her boss.

“Well, I wanted to tell that story because power dynamics are so important in a relationship, and especially if you’re having a relationship with someone you work for. We all know the potential pitfalls,” said Lee on “Good Morning America” on March 7.

Prior to their relationship beginning, the former lawyer revealed that she had a purely professional contact with Johnson for ten years.

“He was a mentor and he pushed me, and he’s responsible for a lot of my success,” said the first-time author.

When the affair started, both people were already married, and as a result, both of their separate marriages ended in divorce. The two coworkers then made their connection public.

“The downfall of a relationship like that is if you want to get out of it,” claimed Lee. “I wanted to break up. I saw it wasn’t a long-term relationship and my job and my career was held over my head and it was like, ‘Well, if you want to break up with me then you can leave tomorrow.’”

At that time, the now-retired CEO had contributed twenty years to making BET a major player in the media.

“I would’ve lost my career, my job, my ability maybe get another job because if I couldn’t get a reference from the person I worked with for 20 years, how do I explain that?” she said. “And by that time I was a single mother with two children. So it was a tough time.”

Lee explained that he had no “female role models” at the time and how “embarrassed” she was to even discuss the affair with her family.

“It was a dark time and what saved me was therapy, and eventually Bob left the company and I became CEO,” she stated.