NC lawmaker publicizes lewd email about the Iran war. Here’s what to know
An email address associated with Robert Winston — CEO of Winston Hospitality and former UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees chairman — was used to send a vulgar message to a North Carolina state lawmaker. The exchange has gone viral and raised questions about Winston’s ties to major Triangle institutions.
FULL STORY: Vulgar email targets NC lawmaker on Iran war. The surprise was where it came from
Here are key takeaways:
• State Rep. Brian Turner, a Buncombe County Democrat, received a response reading “Grow a pair (expletive)” one minute after sending a campaign email condemning the war in Iran. The expletive used could be considered demeaning to women.
• The email came from an address associated with Robert Winston, who has served on the Research Triangle Park Foundation board, chaired the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, and made large donations to NC State University. His hospitality company operates hotels in Jacksonville, Kinston, Goldsboro and across the country.
• Turner posted the exchange on Facebook, where it has surpassed 50,000 views. “This is not some frat boy who’s just had a couple of beers,” Turner told The News & Observer. “I was really disappointed that someone of his professionalism and his position in our community would do that.”
• Turner said he went public because staying silent would amount to “tacitly approving” the behavior, and explicitly called on the RTP Foundation, UNC-Chapel Hill, and NC State to reconsider their engagement with Winston.
• The News & Observer’s efforts to reach Winston by phone, email, and text were not successful. Winston also did not reply to Turner’s follow-up email.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
This story was originally published March 26, 2026 at 10:51 AM.
