Witness says Don Lemon may have been flirting with Hamptons bartender who sued CNN anchor

A witness to the bizarre encounter between CNN host Don Lemon and a Florida man that led to a sexual harassment lawsuit has spoken out about the incident.   

George Gounelas, who was Dustin Hice’s boss at the Old Stove Pub in July of 2018, told Fox News what allegedly occurred on the night of the exchange at Murf’s Backstreet Tavern. 

Hice, 38, is suing Lemon, 53, over the incident at the Sag Harbor hotspot, claiming that Lemon grabbed his own genitals and rubbed his fingers under Hice’s nose, asking him ‘Do you like p***y or d**k?’ Lemon denies the assault. 

‘Dustin worked for me as a bartender [and] we went out after work one night. We were standing there and he said, ‘Hey, that’s Don Lemon,’ Gounelas said. ‘Murf’s is a place you go to drink after you’ve been out drinking. We had just gotten off of work. So that’s why we ended up there, because we worked in the restaurant business. So by the time everything is done, we can only hit a late-night spot.’ 

Dustin Hice is pictured with his sister. He claims that he was with co-workers at Murf’s Backstreet Tavern in Sag Harbor on or around July 15, 2018, when Lemon allegedly assaulted him

George Gounelas

George Gounelas

George Gounelas (left and right), who was Hice’s boss at the Old Stove Pub in July of 2018, described what allegedly occurred on the night of the encounter at Murf’s Backstreet Tavern.

Gounelas said that Hice tried to strike up a conversation with Lemon and buy him a drink, but that the CNN anchor brushed him off, and Hice returned to drink with Gounelas.

LEMON DENIES ALLEGATIONS

A statement from a CNN spokesperson said: ‘The plaintiff in this lawsuit has previously displayed a pattern of contempt for CNN on his social media accounts. 

‘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.’ 

A few moments later, Gounelas said, a ‘pretty drunk’ Lemon sauntered over and confronted himself and Hice.

‘Don Lemon has now come around the corner and is standing face to face with us. There is a beam, a pole, in the place. Don’s standing up against the pole, face to face with Dustin, I turn around and I’m standing right there between the two of them,’ Gounelas said. 

‘So you like me? Is that why you’re bothering me?’ Lemon said, as Gounelas recalls.

‘Nah, man, I just wanted to say, ‘What’s up?’ Hice replied, according to Gounelas.

‘Do you like me? Is that why you’re bothering me, because you wanna f**k me?’ Lemon said in so many words, Gounelas said. 

Gounelas recalled: ‘He put his hands down his pants, inside his board shorts, grabbed his [genitals], and then came out with two fingers and, like, clipped Dustin’s nose up and down with two fingers, asking ‘do you like p—- or d—?’

Don Lemon (above with his husband at their Hamptons home days before the alleged incident) is being sued by Dustin Hice, a Floridian who claims he was assaulted by the CNN anchor at a Hamptons bar

Don Lemon (above with his husband at their Hamptons home days before the alleged incident) is being sued by Dustin Hice, a Floridian who claims he was assaulted by the CNN anchor at a Hamptons bar

Surf and murf: Dustin Hice claims that he was out with co-workers at Murf’s Backstreet Tavern (above) in Sag Harbor on or around July 15, 2018 when Lemon approached him

Surf and murf: Dustin Hice claims that he was out with co-workers at Murf’s Backstreet Tavern (above) in Sag Harbor on or around July 15, 2018 when Lemon approached him

Gounelas said his initial reaction was to laugh at Hice, which he now regrets. 

‘Dustin was in this shock mode saying, ‘Bro, did that just happen? That was disgusting,’ Gounelas said. 

‘The whole thing is like, I go out in the Hamptons, I live out here, I have a restaurant, I get it, people get crazy. To me, it was just another thing. To [Dustin], he was like shocked,’ he continued. Hice was apparently a seasonal worker, whose last known location was Delray Beach, Florida.

To this day, Gounelas isn’t sure whether Lemon was being aggressive, or simply taking an unconventional approach to flirting. 

‘I guess it’s a little of both. If someone had done that to me, I probably would have punched him. But I think it might have been flirting. I think Dustin was more in shock… If someone was flirting with me like that I’d say, ‘alright man I’m not gay,’ Gounelas said. ‘I wouldn’t go up to a girl like that. It could be his way of flirting.’

Gounelas said that the bar was packed, and that word of the encounter quickly spread, making Hice the butt of many jokes in the Hamptons restaurant industry. 

Everybody knew Dustin and what happened to him,’ Gounelas said. ‘Every time we went out, every bartender offered him a Lemon drop shot, making fun of him. He got some s**t for it.’ 

But behind the laughter, Hice continued to be haunted by the incident, according to Gounelas.

‘This is the only thing he could talk about, not in a good way, like ‘I can’t believe that s**t happened,’ Gounelas said, adding that the incident left Hice ‘a little messed up’. 

Lemon (above with his husband on right and friends the day of the incident) allegedly 'removed his hand and shoved his index and middle fingers into Plaintiff’s mustache under Plaintiff’s nose'

Lemon (above with his husband on right and friends the day of the incident) allegedly ‘removed his hand and shoved his index and middle fingers into Plaintiff’s mustache under Plaintiff’s nose’

Hice is suing Lemon for unspecified damages to be determined at trial.  

‘Sometime later that evening, unexpectedly, Mr. Lemon walked towards Plaintiff and his colleagues inside of Murf’s,’ states the complaint.

‘At such time, 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 under Plaintiff’s nose.’

It then goes on to allege: ‘Mr. Lemon intensely pushed his fingers against Plaintiff’s face under Plaintiff’s nose, forcing Plaintiff’s head to 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.’

That is when Hice ‘fled the bar’ and took five to ten minutes collecting himself before he was able to return inside, having recovered from the incident which he claims left him ‘shocked and humiliated’.

Lemon was gone by that point, while Hice was left ’emotionally devastated by Mr. Lemon’s demeaning unprovoked and offensive assault’. 

A network rep said: ‘The plaintiff in this lawsuit has previously displayed a pattern of contempt for CNN on his social media accounts.

‘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.’  

Hice, who was working as a bartender at a different Hamptons bar at the time of the alleged assault, shut down his Twitter account just before filing his lawsuit. He is seen above with his sister

Hice, who was working as a bartender at a different Hamptons bar at the time of the alleged assault, shut down his Twitter account just before filing his lawsuit. He is seen above with his sister

Hice, who was working as a bartender at The Old Stove Pub in Sagaponack at the time of the alleged assault, shut down his Twitter account just before filing his lawsuit.

The registered Republican, who just two months prior admitted to injuring his then-girlfriend when he hurled his keys at her in a domestic dispute, claims that he ‘found it increasingly more difficult to continue working at The Old Stove or socializing at all in the Hamptons.’

He also alleged that many at Murf’s would reference the incident when they saw him at the bar.

‘After the incident, customers who came into The Old Stove or saw Plaintiff out about town cheekily ordered lemon drops and laughed at Plaintiff’s expense,’ wrote Hice’s lawyer. 

‘Plaintiff has suffered tremendously as a result of Mr. Lemon’s actions. Following this incident, Plaintiff found himself withdrawn from friends and family, suffered feelings of shame, humiliation, anxiety, anger, and guilt,’ states the complaint.

It adds: ‘Plaintiff found himself unable to sleep and at times, and suffered from suicidal ideations. 

‘Although Plaintiff, a religious man, tried to find solace within his faith and the church, to this day he continues to suffer emotionally, mentally, and personally from the incident.’

He also said that he cannot return to New York to work, something the 38-year-old man had hoped to continue doing for years. 

Hice lists ‘assault and battery and both ‘intentional’ and negligent emotional distress’ as his three causes of action in the case.

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