Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk and X for $1.5 Million Over Canceled Talk Show Deal

Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk and X Over Canceled Talk Show

Don Lemon, the former CNN anchor, has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and his social media platform, X, over a canceled talk show deal. The lawsuit, filed on August 1st in the Superior Court of California, accuses Musk of fraud, misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon's name and likeness, and breach of contract.

Lemon was slated to host a show on X in January 2024. He had a content partnership deal with the platform, but Musk canceled it in March. According to the lawsuit, Musk informed Lemon of the cancellation via text message to the reporter's agent, simply stating "contract is canceled."

The lawsuit claims that Musk and X agreed to pay Lemon $1.5 million, with $200,000 upfront, under the content deal. The X show was supposed to mark Lemon's return to media after his high-profile exit from CNN. He previously had his own primetime show on the network but was later moved to a morning show. However, reports of clashes with coworkers and allegations of misogyny led to his firing in April 2024.

The deal reportedly included an option for Lemon to renew the one-year contract twice under the same terms, 60% of the gross ad revenue from the show, and views-based performance bonuses. It also allowed Lemon to retain ownership of any content he created on the platform.

Lemon never obtained a signed agreement from Musk. The lawsuit states that the deal was negotiated over a phone call between Musk and Lemon on June 16, 2023. Lemon reportedly expressed reservations about partnering with X due to controversies surrounding the platform. In response, Musk allegedly assured Lemon that he would have full control over his work, even if it was disliked by X, and that a formal written agreement wouldn't be necessary.

Lemon's attorney accused Musk and X of using the news of Lemon's show to attract advertisers before dropping him. They claim that X executives used Lemon to boost their advertising sales pitch and then canceled the partnership, damaging his reputation.

In March, X issued a statement saying that "The Don Lemon Show" was welcome to publish its content on the platform without censorship. However, they reserved the right to make decisions about their business partnerships and decided not to proceed with the commercial partnership with the show.

Musk also gave his own statement, describing Lemon as "demanding" and wanting to "rehash the dying CNN business model."

Lemon's lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.