Don Lemon is facing a lawsuit from a man who claims the CNN anchor sexually assaulted him at a bar in the Hamptons.
The plaintiff, Dustin Hice, filed the lawsuit on Aug. 11 in Suffolk County Court.
Hice says he was living in the Hamptons and working as a bartender at The Old Stove Pub in Sagaponack, New York during the summer of 2018. On July 15, 2018 after his work shift, Hice claims that he went to Murf’s Backstreet Tavern in Sag Harbor, New York.
Hice alleges that he spotted Lemon at the bar and offered to buy him a drink called the Lemon Drop. Lemon declined telling Hice he was “just trying to have a good time.”
Later that night, Hice alleges that Lemon approached him inside the bar.
“[Lemon] 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,” the lawsuit reads.
Hice claims that Lemon also repeatedly asked him, “Do you like p**sy or d**k?”
Lemon’s alleged actions caused Hice to feel “shocked and humiliated” and he left the establishment.
Hice is seeking unspecified damages for “emotional pain and suffering.”
CNN stands by Lemon and says the CNN anchor “categorically denies” the claims. A CNN spokesperson also accuses Hice of having “contempt” for the network.
“The plaintiff in this lawsuit has previously displayed a pattern of contempt for CNN on his social media accounts,” a CNN spokesperson told Mediaite. “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.”
