DON Lemon is an award-winning CNN journalist who was accused of sexually assaulting a man a number of years ago.
Lemon - who is openly gay and engaged to Tim Malone - was accused by Dustin Hice in a lawsuit filed in 2019 and dropped in 2022.
Who is Dustin Hice?
Dustin Hice is an ex-bartender from the Hamptons, New York.
He previously claimed that Don Lemon allegedly sexually assaulted him at the Sag Harbor dive bar, Murf’s, back in July 2018.
Hice went on to sue Lemon for damages of emotional pain and loss of earnings, as reported by Towel Road.
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The alleged attack, the suit claims, left Hice with “feelings of shame, humiliation, anxiety, anger, and guilt,” and affected his work in the Hamptons.
“Mr. Lemon, who was wearing a pair of shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt, put his hand down the front of his own shorts, and vigorously rubbed his genitalia, removed his hand and shoved his index and middle fingers in Plaintiff’s moustache and under Plaintiff’s nose,” the suit continued.
In a now-deleted Instagram post uploaded by Hice in January 2017, a picture showed Hice in front of CNN headquarters with the caption, “touring the #CNN center today…or as #Trump would say ‘the home of Fake News’ lol,” reported Mediaite.
At the time, CNN told Mediaite that Hice “has previously displayed a pattern of contempt” for the network on his social media accounts, adding:
“This claim follows his unsuccessful threats and demands for an exorbitant amount of money from Don Lemon. Don categorically denies these claims and this matter does not merit any further comment at this time.”
Lemon's attorneys categorically deny all allegations against Lemon and accused Hice of withholding texts, deleting social media posts, and hiding a witness who has contradicted his claims.
Lemon's attorneys further claimed that Lemon “is often subjected to racist and homophobic harassment.”
What did he say about Don Lemon?
Appearing on the Megyn Kelly Show on November 8, Hice made several further allegations against Lemon.
He first made allegations against the anchor four years ago but appeared again on the show to reiterate a possible "pattern of behavior" by the host.
“Anybody that acts like that in public without any fear of what it might do to somebody or the consequences it might have, that’s a pattern,” Hice told host Megyn Kelly after she asked whether it was something he may have done before.
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“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Hice added. “He’s protected by the fact that he’s African American, gay man on television and I’m just some nobody.”
Did Hice drop his allegations?
In May 2022, Hice dropped his sexual assault lawsuit against Lemon.
The news came "just weeks before the civil assault jury trial was to begin, and shortly after a federal judge ordered Hice to pay Lemon $77,000 in attorneys' fees for failing to comply with court rules," according to Advocate.
In a statement released at the time, Hice wrote that his “recollection of the events that occurred on the night in question when I first met CNN anchor Don Lemon were not what I thought they were when I filed this lawsuit.”
Lemon’s attorney Caroline Polisi responded by saying: "This has been a long and difficult journey for Don. Out of respect for the judicial process and my advice, he has had to remain silent in the face of a malicious and vulgar attack on his character."
She added: "Unfortunately, being a gay Black man in the media, he has had to deal with these sorts of attacks for quite some time."
"The Court’s ruling fully vindicates Mr. Lemon and brings an end to this abusive lawsuit," Polisi concluded.
