Don Lemon says Elon Musk has canceled his deal for a show on X
TechCrunchMAR 15 2024
Former CNN host Don Lemon on Thursday sued Elon Musk and his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) after a $1.5M one-year deal to host a talk show on the billionaire's platform quickly evaporated.
After Lemon was fired from CNN over controversial comments about then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley in April last year, Musk reached out to him to launch a new show on X.
However, after just one episode of "The Don Lemon Show" — in which Musk was the guest and was asked about his drug use and alleged hate speech on X — Musk abruptly canceled the deal.
Musk and X sought Lemon to revitalize the platform after dozens of advertisers pulled out over its content moderation policies. Musk must compensate and pay for damages after unfairly terminating the multi-million-dollar partnership deal.
During negotiations, Lemon sought out numerous benefits, and Musk had generously agreed to pay him several financial perks. Could he really be so surprised that the deal was canceled once he went after the man paying his bills?