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