Elon Musk claims he nixed a content partnership with Don Lemon because the ex-CNN journalist “made a series of impressively insane demands.” The tech billionaire’s comments came a day after Lemon sued Musk and X (formerly known as Twitter), alleging breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and more over the canceled pact.
“He made a series of impressively insane demands. We declined. Therefore, there was no deal,” Musk wrote on X Friday. Musk didn’t detail what Lemon’s alleged “insane demands” were.
A rep for Lemon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Lemon’s lawsuit is seeking unspecified monetary damages. According to the suit, Musk and X agreed to pay Lemon $1.5 million with additional ad revenue-sharing terms and other incentives. Lemon did not have a signed contract with X, but he was assured by Musk that there was “no need for a formal written agreement or to ‘fill out paperwork,’” according the lawsuit.
In January 2024, Lemon announced a partnership with Musk and X to host an interview show available exclusively on the X platform and create other original content. Musk ended the partnership in March via a text message to Lemon’s agent with the words “contract is canceled,” according to the journalist’s lawyers.
According to Lemon, Musk backed out of the content deal just a few hours after Lemon sat with the tech mogul for a contentious interview for his new X show. Lemon commented in a video released at the time, “apparently, free speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me.”
Lemon remains active on X and currently has 1.5 million followers. Musk, who reluctantly closed his $44 billion deal for Twitter in the fall of 2022, has nearly 193 million followers (making him the No. 1 most-followed user on the platform).
