This is NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Kia Miyaka-Nates. Deborah Lee is an entertainment industry legend.

As the former CEO of BET, she helped shape numerous careers and, well, culture, generally, while running the cable TV channel.

But beyond the fancy celebrity award shows and powerful boardroom meetings were the relatable

struggles of a woman trying to make it in a male-dominated space, battling against feeling

unseen, unheard, and harassed.

She shares her story and her new memoir, I am Deborah Lee. It's a bit of a

business book with a healthy dose of career advice, some courtesy of the late, great Aretha Franklin.

Here's Lee talking about battling good girl expectations with here and now's Celeste Headley.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you

understand why distant events matter here at home. Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or

wherever you get your podcasts. As the CEO of BET or Black Entertainment Television from 2005 to

2018, Deborah Lee was one of the most powerful women

in the entertainment industry. She also served as the organization's chief operating officer for 10

years and was BET's first general counsel. But as she recalls in her new memoir, for much of her

career, Debrilie had to deal with expectations that she'd be a good girl.

As a black woman, she was often invisible to her male colleagues who chafed at her promotions,

and Lee's relationship with the BET founder, Robert Johnson, was a complicated one, incorporating

both mentorship and sexual harassment.

Deborah Lee's memoir is, I am Deborah Lee, and she joins me now to talk about it.

Deborah, welcome to hear now.

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