“I want to keep my job so I’m not going to say anything,” Lemon said. “I like being able to pay my mortgage.”

CNN’s Don Lemon was momentarily at a loss for words after watching an interview in which embattled Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said he hadn’t been fully aware of his white privilege or why wearing blackface was problematic.

In a taped appearance on “CBS This Morning” earlier that day, Northam was asked about wearing blackface as part of a Michael Jackson costume in 1984.

“I didn’t realize really the powerful implications of that, and again, talking to a lot of friends, that has come crystal clear to me this week,” Northam told the Gayle King. “I’ve also learned why the use of blackface is so offensive and yes, I knew it in the past, but reality has really set in.”

Despite calls for the Democrat’s resignation, Lemon said “it remains to be seen how Gov. Northam’s story will end,” adding that now that his actions have been exposed, they require a response.

“Bringing racism, anti-Semitism, hate speech out in the open is a double-edged sword,” Lemon said. “It’s disturbing. It’s dangerous, but it also gives the rest of us the opportunity to speak out against it, to condemn it.”