Don Lemon’s Sexual Assault Case Is Moving Forward — Here’s What We Know
In recent months, CNN has seen its fair share of tumult with the suspension and firing of Chris Cuomo in December and last week’s resignation of Jeff Zucker as CNN Worldwide’s president.
But now one of the network’s most visible anchors, Don Lemon, is set to head to court to face a sexual assault case. The trial comes after Lemon, whose show aired in the slot after Cuomo’s and who cohosted a podcast with the now-dismissed news personality, reportedly turned on his longtime friend, questioning why CNN would reward the disgraced anchor by paying his multimillion-dollar severance during a call with WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, The Wall Street Journal reported.
On Wednesday, a federal judge set a date for jury selection in the federal civil sexual assault trial against Lemon in the Eastern District of New York courthouse on Long Island, according to court documents viewed by The Advocate.
The anchor, through his attorney, had sought to avoid a jury trial. However, the judge denied his motion.The Advocate has reached out to Lemon's laywer for comment and did not hear back before publishing.Here’s what you need to know:Why is Don Lemon being sued?A former bartender named Dustin Hice filed a lawsuit in 2019 alleging that Lemon approached Hice and sexually assaulted him by rubbing his fingers in Hice’s face after fondling himself at a bar in the Hamptons.Hice’s lawsuit claims that on July 15, 2018, after closing the Old Stove Pub, he and a group of colleagues went to Murf’s Backstreet Tavern, a bar in Sag Harbor, for drinks.
