Don Lemon claims Elon Musk cancelled his X show because he didn’t like his interview

Don Lemon has claimed that Elon Musk cancelled his partnership with X just hours after the former CNN anchor conducted an interview with the controversial tech billionaire.

“Elon publicly encouraged me to join X with a new show, saying I would have his ‘full support,’” Mr Lemon said in a statement.

He said that he took Mr Musk at his word that he was “interested in working directly with diverse voices” and the two men sat down for an interview for the premiere of the show – The Don Lemon Show – which was due to be released on 18 March.

But, Mr Lemon went on to say that the deal for the show was suddenly axed just “hours after” the interview.

“We had a good conversation. Clearly he felt differently,” Mr Lemon said of Mr Musk.

In excerpts of the 90-minute interview that were aired on CNN on Wednesday night, Mr Lemon is heard questioning Mr Musk on an array of topics, including a recent meeting he had with former president Donald Trump in Palm Beach and his open use of the drug ketamine, asking the SpaceX founder if he believed it posed a problem for his government security clearance.

Mr Lemon, who was fired from CNN last year following accusations of sexist on-air comments and behind-the-scenes mistreatment of his coworkers, also grilled Mr Musk on the rise in hate speech on X since his takeover of the platform – asking him if he believed that he and the company had a responsibility to moderate hateful content.

Despite proclaiming himself as a “free speech absolutist,” Mr Musk did not seem receptive to Mr Lemon’s questions.

“I don’t have to answer questions from reporters, Don,” Mr Musk replied. “The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform and you asked for it. Otherwise, I would not do this interview.”

In his statement, Mr Lemon slammed Mr Musk for his apparent hypocrisy.

“His commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me,” he said.

“There were no restrictions on the interview that he willingly agreed to, and my questions were respectful and wide ranging,” he added.

X has since defended Mr Musk’s decision to pull the plug on its agreement with Mr Lemon.

“The Don Lemon Show is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities,” the company said in a statement.

“However, like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships, and after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show.”

Mr Musk also hit out at Mr Lemon in a post on X on Wednesday, saying that “his approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying”.

“And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just [former CNN chief] Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity,” he added.

X announced in January that Mr Lemon would host a show on the platform. The deal was reportedly struck as part of an effort by Mr Musk to attract high-profile media creators to his platform.

Now, Mr Lemon has vowed that his show will continue despite the cancellation, with his spokesperson telling CNN he still expects Mr Musk to honour the financial terms of the agreement.

“Don has a deal with X and expects to be paid for it,” the spokesperson said. “If we have to go to court we will.”

Yet, according to CNN and Semafor, Mr Lemon had not technically signed a contract with X for the show.

Two people familiar with the deal told Semafor this means X does not need to pay the former cable news host.

However, contracts do not necessarily have to be signed to be legally binding, particularly if it is clear each side had arrived at a mutual understanding.

Mr Lemon’s team is reportedly confident that a deal had effectively been struck, as evidenced by the fact that X had touted the deal in public announcements earlier this year, CNN reported.

Mr Musk also appeared to acknowledge the existence of a contract when he texted Jay Sures, the UTA power agent who represents Mr Lemon, to say the “contract is canceled,” CNN reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The X owner has previously proclaimed himself a “free speech absolutist” and has relaxed moderation policies on the platform since he took over in 2022.

Since then, he has come under fire on multiple occasions over content promoting antisemitism on the site, however he has insisted that he is “pro free speech” but against antisemitism “of any kind”.

He has also been accused of suspending journalists from the platform and filing lawsuits against watchdogs for publishing reports critical of X.