Former CNN Host Don Lemon is reportedly suing Elon Musk over the cancellation of his contract to release an exclusive show on X. According to the lawsuit, which was filed last week, Lemon claims that Musk committed fraud by misrepresenting the platform when pitching the original deal to him. The legal measure further claims that the contract was breached while Musk profited from the misappropriation of Lemons’ name and likeness.
Lemon had previously signed a one-year deal with X valued at $1.5 million, in which he would produce one “long-form” video per week that wasn’t centered around breaking news along with ten short-form videos per month. However, the deal was scrapped earlier this year after an interview between Musk and Lemon, intended to be the pilot episode, went south.
According to Lemon’s lawsuit, “Defendants [Musk and X] deliberately misrepresented what they intended to do. Defendants knew that if they accurately represented to Lemon that the purpose and meaning of the exclusive partnership deal was to use Lemon’s name, likeness, reputation, and identity to rehabilitate Defendants’ reputation and draw in advertisers to the X platform, Lemon would never have agreed to do what he did and Defendants would have been unable to utilize Lemon to keep up with their ongoing efforts to woo advertisers.”
Carney Shegerian, Lemon’s attorney, explained to the Daily Caller News Foundation, “This case is straightforward. X’s 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. Don’s a hard-hitting journalist who’s committed to defending his good name. We look forward to our day in court.”
The American Tribune previously reported on the cancellation of the contract between X and the “Don Lemon Show” after the debut had been recorded. After Musk and Lemon sat down to record the show’s first episode, it was announced shortly after that the partnership would be scrapped.
“Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X, which they announced as part of their public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices on their platform. He informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday. That interview will remain the premiere episode of The Don Lemon Show on Monday, March 18,” Lemon’s statement read.
The former CNN host claimed the interview was “restriction-free” but respectful and covered a wide array of topics. Lemon, the conversation went well, but evidently, Musk didn’t feel the same. Lemon then suggested that Musk’s commitment to freedom of speech in the town square must not include his thoughts and opinions.
However, Musk offered his side of the story, contrasting with Lemon’s. “His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.” He added, “And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity. All this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else,” the billionaire entrepreneur said.
Watch Lemon’s reaction to losing his deal with X below:
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