Don Lemon interviews Elon Musk in May on the first episode of “The Don Lemon Show.”
The Don Lemon Show
Don Lemon on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and X after the erratic billionaire canceled a planned partnership that would have seen the former CNN anchor create a talk show on the embattled social media platform.
Musk abruptly canceled the well-publicized deal with Lemon earlier this year after he became visibly annoyed during an interview with the journalist for the first episode of “The Don Lemon Show.”
Lemon’s lawsuit, filed in a San Francisco court, alleged that Musk and X induced him “through false promises and representations” to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to create the web based show, only to pull the rug from under him.
Lemon alleged that Musk wanted to announce a partnership with him only to trade off his name to rehabilitate his social media company’s troubled image. Since Musk took over X, advertisers have fled, choosing not to associate their brands with the toxic content on the platform, some of which emanates directly from the billionaire owner himself.
“This case is straightforward,” Carney Shegerian, an attorney for Lemon, said in a statement. “X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud. You don’t have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here.”
A representative for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit, but the company previously defended scrapping its deal with Lemon, stating “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.”
The lawsuit alleges that Musk, in addition to X chief executive Linda Yaccarino, promised Lemon a $1.5 million deal and added revenue sharing incentive to post his content on the platform 24 hours before uploading it elsewhere.
Lemon alleged in the lawsuit that he was skeptical of striking a deal with Musk, given his unhinged public behavior, but that he was eventually won over by Yaccarino, who assured him that he would have the platform’s full support. In their attempts to recruit him, Yaccarino and Brett Weitz, head of talent at X, attended a lunch in New York City with Lemon in which they conveyed Lemon would have the company’s backing, the lawsuit said.
But the deal quickly collapsed after Musk grew angry at Lemon’s questioning during a sit-down interview in March taped at his Tesla headquarters in Texas. During the interview, Lemon pressed Musk about the rise of hate speech on X, in addition to his open use of the prescription drug ketamine.
News
Game of Thrones Made the Right Call Cutting the Books’ Biggest Targaryen Twist – And This Major Spinoff Trend Proves It!
Game of Thrones cut A Song of Ice and Fire‘s biggest Targaryen twist (so far) when it didn’t include Young Griff, aka Aegon Targaryen, but it was the right…
Jon Snow’s iconic sword and Jaime Lannister’s golden hand are up for grabs – Don’t miss your chance to own a piece of ‘Game of Thrones’ history!
Heritage Auctions has united with HBO to offer more than 2,000 pieces from the hit series based on George R.R. Martin’s novels. They include the dreaded shame…
‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Might Blow Past Game of Thrones’ Biggest Cameo – If They Can Land This One Celebrity Who Would Be Perfect for the Role!
One celebrity is so perfect that their potential cameo in House of the Dragon can leave behind Game of Thrones’ most memorable cameo. The Game of Thrones prequel, House…
House of the Dragon Season 2: A slow-burning yet captivating ‘dance’ you won’t want to miss!
The long night has officially begun, and two bleak winters will now pass before we are gifted season three of this magnificent show. Season one of House of…
House of the Dragon’s Fabien Frankel set to reunite with co-stars Matt Smith & Tom Glynn-Carney at NYCC 2024 – What could this epic reunion reveal?
Raise your banners – green and black are coming head-to-head at New York Comic Con 2024. House of the Dragon’s Ser Criston Cole – aka actor Fabien…
10 Strangest Details You Probably Missed in House of the Dragon!
The first two seasons of House of the Dragon had many great moments and clever plotlines setting up a horrific war, known as the Dance of the Dragons,…
End of content
No more pages to load