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
Is ‘The Watchers’ Inspired by Real-Life Folklore? Discover the Truth Behind the Scary Story!
Folktales have led to some of the most terrifying horror movies in recent years, presenting audiences with monstrous creatures and strange human behavior. These stories come from…
Director’s Daughter Turns Horror Flop into a Surprise #1 Hit on Max
Growing up on sets around the world, Ishana Night Shyamalan watched her father, two-time Academy Award nominee M. Night Shyamalan, helm some of the biggest thrillers and…
‘The Watchers’: Dakota Fanning, Ishana Shyamalan, and Georgina Campbell Share How ‘Love Island’ Surprisingly Influenced Their Chilling Horror Film!
©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection “Try not to die!” When Dakota Fanning’s Mina prepares for a night out with a bird on loan from the pet shop, she gives…
Here’s Why ‘The Watchers’ Should Be Your Next Must-Watch Series!
The feature debut of 24-year-old Ishana Night Shyamalan has divided critics, but there’s more going on beneath the surface than it seems. Dakota Fanning in ‘The Watchers.’ Jonathan…
Could HBO’s Big Bet on ‘Industry’ Cement Its Status as the Next Hit Series?
Nick Strasburg/HBO It’s a tale as old as time in the television industry: There’s no better way to make a TV show a success than to move…
Industry Season 3 Returns with 8 Thrilling Episodes Packed with High-Stakes Drama and Scandalous Debauchery!
The HBO series levels up in its third season—and you won’t want to miss a second of it. HBO Our product picks are editor-tested, expert-approved. We may…
End of content
No more pages to load