After a reported sexual harassment allegation was made against former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, who was dismissed from the network over the weekend, the man who has accused CNN host Don Lemon of a sexually charged assault and battery told Fox News Digital that CNN was “a network rife with predators and perverts.”
Dustin Hice, whose lawsuit against Lemon for a reported incident at Murf’s Backstreet Tavern on Long Island in summer 2018 will likely go to court in early 2022, said of CNN, “They’re a network rife with predators and perverts. Lemon will have to testify under oath in the near future, but it’s good to see that there’s finally some accountability happening. … This is who they are. They’re a predator-protecting machine, they slander and smear victims with impunity.”
“They’ve tried to grind me down; they’ve attempted to intimidate witnesses in my case; they’ve released confidential information about me in attempt to doxx me,” Hice charged. “They are complicit. This is who they are.”
Lemon’s attorney, Caroline J. Polisi, told Fox News that Lemon wouldn’t litigate the accusation against him through the media.
“In response to Mr. Hice’s baseless allegations, I encourage people to review the public filings, which show that Mr. Hice’s claims have been steadily eroding when they have been exposed to the civil litigation process. Mr. Hice’s fanciful and salacious allegations against Mr. Lemon have collapsed of their own weight,” she said. “Unlike Mr. Hice, Mr. Lemon has litigated, and will continue to litigate this case in the courtroom, not the press. We look forward to the approaching trial so he can finally put this case behind him.”
According to Fox News, Hice says he’s looking for closure on his alleged encounter with Lemon.
“Hice maintains he is looking for closure and peace of mind after what he says is a horrific encounter that included Lemon allegedly putting his hand down the front of his [own] shorts, ‘vigorously’ rubbing his genitalia, and shoving the same hand into Hice’s mustache area while asking a vulgar question,” Fox News reported, adding, “Hice’s lawsuit filed Aug. 11, 2019, in Suffolk County Court alleged 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****or d***?’”
Hice has stated, “They painted me as trying to extort $1.5 million from him but they never mentioned that he offered many times over six figures to settle. He tried to make payments on that and I said, ‘No thank you.’ I think that when he went to CNN and [denied the accusations], he probably failed to mention that he offered me well over six figures in the settlement process.” He continued, “The media has labeled me as an ‘accuser,’ as opposed to a ‘victim,’ just because I’m a male. I’ve been struggling, but there is a lot of people that have gone through a lot worse things than somebody rubbing their genitals and putting it in your face, as disgusting and vile as that is. There are people that have been raped and worse.”