Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and X Corp, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, alleging fraud and breach of contract after the abrupt termination of their video series partnership, according to the New York Times.
The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco, includes claims of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness, and breach of express contract.
Abrupt Termination of Partnership
The conflict began when Musk abruptly ended the planned partnership with Lemon in March, just hours after Lemon conducted an interview with Musk. According to Lemon, Musk sent a text message shortly after the interview, stating, “contract terminated.”
Carney Shegerian, Lemon’s attorney, described the case as straightforward, accusing X executives of using Lemon to boost their advertising sales pitch before canceling the partnership and damaging Lemon’s reputation. Shegerian emphasized that Lemon is determined to defend his reputation and hold X’s executives accountable in court.
What Led to Lemon’s Partnership with X?
Lemon, who was one of CNN’s marquee talents, was dismissed from the network in April 2023 following internal conflicts and a poorly received stint as a morning show host.
Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X who joined the company last year, reached out to Lemon’s agent several months after his departure from CNN with an offer to create a new show that would stream on X. The company announced the deal with Lemon in January, promoting X as a “video-first platform.”
Lemon’s first episode for the platform was planned to be an hour-long interview in March with Musk at Tesla’s Austin headquarters. The interview quickly became tense as Lemon questioned Musk on various issues, including:
- Alleged ketamine use
- Views on transgender individuals
- Stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring initiatives
Lemon also interrogated Musk about tweets that appeared to support the “great replacement theory,” a racist belief.
Musk became visibly upset during the interview, at one point telling Lemon, “The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform and you asked for it.”
Reasons for Cancellation
Musk later justified canceling the show by criticizing its creative direction, claiming it was too similar to CNN’s content and alleging that Lemon was a mouthpiece for former network president Jeff Zucker.
Lemon claims that he agreed to produce a news and interview show on X back in January, with an agreement to receive $1.5 million a year and a share of the advertising revenue for producing premium content for X.
However, Lemon states in the filing that he never signed a contract because Musk assured him that paperwork was unnecessary and that he would support the show regardless of Lemon’s views or interview topics. Despite this assurance, Lemon says he has not been paid for his work.
Challenges for X
In many ways, Lemon was an unusual fit for the platform. Musk has become more overtly conservative and critical of news outlets in recent years, recently pledging full support for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election and promoting various right-wing posts, including anti-trans and anti-immigration rhetoric. Musk and Yaccarino’s effort to attract influencers and cable news personalities like Lemon was part of the platform’s pivot towards videos and creator content.
Although Musk succeeded in bringing former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to air a show on X, he has largely failed to attract mainstream talent to the platform.
The rise in extremism and the degradation of content moderation following Musk’s takeover have also pushed away major advertisers.
Yaccarino mentioned that the company was focused on becoming a “video first” platform and had inked similar deals with notable figures like former Democratic lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard and sports commentator Jim Rome, though many of these shows have yet to materialize on X.
Featured Image courtesy of Dominik Bindl/Getty Images
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