Former CNN host Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk and Twitter over a canceled deal with the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Her filing in California’s San Francisco Superior Court includes claims for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness and breach of express contract.
Musk abruptly ended a planned partnership with Lemon in March, hours after Lemon filmed an interview with him. Shortly after the interview concluded, Musk texted Lemon: “contract terminated,” according to Lemon.
Lemon’s attorney, Carney Shegerian, said: “This case is straightforward. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the fraud, negligence and reputational damage that was committed in this case. Don is an experienced and hard-hitting journalist who is committed to defending his good name and holding X executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court.”
When The Guardian contacted X for comment, his press inbox generated the automated response: “Busy now, please check back later.”
Lemon was previously one of CNN’s top talents before internal conflicts and a poorly received run as a morning show host led the network to… fire him in April 2023.
Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive of X who joined the firm last year, initially reached out to Lemon’s agent several months after his firing from CNN with an offer to create a new show that would air on X. The firm announced its agreement with Lemon in January, in a statement claiming that X was now a “video-first platform.”
Lemon’s first episode for the platform was set to be an hour-long interview in March with Musk at Tesla’s Austin headquarters. The interview quickly turned tense and awkward as Lemon asked Musk about a range of topics, from his thoughts on white privilege and opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion programs to his use of ketamine and the rise of anti-Semitic content on the platform.
Musk appeared visibly upset on numerous occasions during the interview, telling Lemon: “The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on platform X and you asked for it.”
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Musk claimed he canceled the show because of its creative direction, posting that it was too similar to CNN’s content and alleging that Lemon was a spokesperson for former CNN CEO Jeff Zucker.
In many ways, Lemon was not a great fit for the platform. In recent years, Musk has become more openly conservative and opposed to critical media outlets; most recently, he pledged his full support for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election and promoted a number of right-wing posts that include anti-trans and anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Musk and Yaccarino’s attempt to court influencers and cable news personalities like Lemon was part of the platform’s pivot toward video and creator-owned content. While Musk did manage to woo former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to host a show on X, he has largely failed to attract mainstream talent to the platform.
The rise of extremism and the deterioration of content moderation following its acquisition have also driven away big-name advertisers.