A former Yale psychiatrist sued the university claiming she was fired for her tweets calling Donald Trump a danger to the country and denigrating those around him.
Assistant clinical professor Dr Bandy Lee claims he was threatened with dismissal in January 2020 after former Trump attorney Alan Dershowitz wrote to the university complaining about his comments on social media.
In her recently filed lawsuit, she says Yale fired her in response to her January 2020 tweet that characterized “just about all” supporters of the ex-president as suffering from “shared psychosis.”
She also claimed that Mr. Dershowitz, who represented Mr. Trump in his first impeachment trial, had “fully assumed Trump’s symptoms by contagion.”
Mr. Dershowitz wrote to officials at the University of Connecticut that Dr. Lee had “publicly” diagnosed “me as” psychotic, “based on my legal and political views, and never examined or even met me. .
Her federal lawsuit indicates that she was fired on May 17, 2020 and her dismissal letter stated that it was “because she did not have a formal role as a teacher.”
Dr Lee caught the nation’s attention in April 2017 when she gave a lecture at the university on Mr Trump’s mental state.
This in turn led to a bookDonald Trump’s Dangerous Case: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Evaluate a President.
The lawsuit seeks reinstatement of Yale faculty, as well as economic and non-economic damages “including loss of income, loss of benefits, loss of resources, loss of privileges, indirect but significant loss of earnings , future economic losses, emotional distress, loss of reputation and enjoyment of life ”and punitive damages.
“I did this with a heavy heart, only because Yale refused all of my requests for discussion, just like the American Psychiatric Association did,” Dr. Lee said in a statement to theYale Daily News.
“I love Yale, my alma mater, as I love my country, but we are falling into a dangerous culture of self-censorship and respect for authority at all costs.”
University spokeswoman Karen Peart declined to comment on details of the case.
This story was edited on March 24, 2021 to clarify that Dr. Lee’s role was clinical assistant professor and not a lecturer
