Don Lemon accuser recants 2018 sexual misconduct claim, drops lawsuit, says 'My recollection of the events' 'were not what I thought they were'



Dustin Hice, the man who accused CNN anchor Don Lemon in a lawsuit of gross sexual misconduct, has dropped the allegations, saying that he misremembered the 2018 incident.

Hice previously insisted that Lemon, during a 2018 run-in at a Hamptons bar, stuck his hand under Hice's nose after "vigorously" rubbing his own genitals and insisted that Lemon displayed a pattern of “aggression and hostility” toward Hice during the purported interaction.

Lemon has maintained innocence in the allegations.

What are the details?

On Monday, Hice issued a statement through his attorney claiming that he misremembered the night's events.

“After a lot of inner reflection and a deep dive into my memory, I have come to realize that my 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,” Hice said in the statement.

An attorney for the CNN anchor responded to Hice dropping the lawsuit and said, "Thankfully, Mr. Hice was finally able to access his memory and recollect the correct version of events on the night when he approached Don Lemon. 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. 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," the statement continued. "This case was a crass money grab from its inception. Mr. Lemon has never paid the plaintiff a dime over the course of this unfortunate spectacle, and he is looking forward to moving on with his life. I hope that many in the media have learned their lesson on misreporting the facts and jumping to conclusions. The reporting on this story by many outlets has been a case-study in unethical and uninformed reporting.”

Full statement from Lemon\u2019s attorney:pic.twitter.com/puybsiohBp
— Dylan Byers (@Dylan Byers) 1651529470

Sexually charged assault lawsuit accusing Don Lemon of disgusting, vulgar behavior expected to land in court following long legal process



A lawsuit accusing CNN anchor Don Lemon of sexually charged assault is expected to land in court following what Fox News describes as a "prolonged legal process" that has taken place since the initial 2018 allegations.

What's a brief history here?

In a 2019 lawsuit, former Sag Harbor bartender Dustin Hice said that Lemon — who was visiting a bar in the Hamptons during the summer of 2018 — assaulted him with vulgar, inappropriate touching.

In the suit, Hice said that he saw Lemon at the bar after work. He immediately recognized Lemon as one of CNN's anchors and said that he attempted to get his attention to offer him a drink, but Lemon refused.

Later that evening, Lemon reportedly accosted Hice and assaulted him.

A portion of the suit alleged, "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 into Plaintiff's mustache and under Plaintiff's nose."

"Lemon intensely pushed his fingers against Plaintiff's face under Plaintiff's nose, forcing Plaintiff's head thrust backward as Defendant repeatedly asked Plaintiff 'Do you like p***y or d**k?' While saying this, Mr. Lemon continued to shove his fingers into Plaintiff's face with aggression and hostility," the suit added.

Lemon in response to the initial compliant denied all wrongdoing and said that Hice's lawsuit was "frivolous."

In 2019, the New York Post reported that a source close to Lemon told them that the plaintiff in the lawsuit demanded $1.5 million before filing the complaint.

What's happening now?

Hice told Fox News Digital that the suit continues and that, despite a lengthy discovery process, it could end up in court around January 2022.

Hice in 2020 told the outlet that Lemon's purported "vile, disgusting, lewd, and inhumane" behavior would be taken far more seriously if Hice were a woman.

"I'm not doing this for notoriety or fame, I'm doing this because I'm standing up for myself and what I believe in," Hice told Fox News at the time. "I've grown a new respect for people dealing with mental health issues because stress, depression, anxiety, those are all very serious things. It consumed my life."

Fox News reported that neither CNN nor Lemon responded to a request for comment on the pending litigation.