Don Lemon Threatens Lawsuit Against Elon Musk Over Canceled X Deal

Don Lemon is seemingly not going to sit on his hands following his canceled deal with Elon Musk's X platform. A spokesperson from Lemon's camp has now revealed that the former cable news host will go to any length to seek redress for the contract dispute, even if it means suing the X owner.

Lemon was set to launch his new "The Don Lemon Show" on X and would have released his interview with Musk as its debut episode, but the deal fell through as the tech billionaire reportedly didn't like the nature of questions he was quizzed on.

Lemon is reportedly willing to go to court to seek redress over his canceled X partnership. The social media platform had lined up the former CNN anchor to broadcast a show in a bid to delve into more video content offerings.

Shortly after, Lemon took to the platform to announce that Musk had canceled the deal, and now the issue of whether he still has to be paid for his short stint is driving a legal wedge between them.

According to Semafor, Lemon's spokesperson, Allison Gollust, didn't reveal the intricacies of the deal but shared that he has a deal with X and "expects to be paid for it."

"If we have to go to court, we will," she added.

A spokesperson from X is yet to respond to requests for comments about the situation.

According to the news outlet, two sources with detailed knowledge about the terms of the deal expressed doubts about whether the fired CNN anchor would be able to sue the Tesla boss.

The insider disclosed that Lemon did not technically put pen to paper on the contract with X, implying that the social media company didn't need to pay him. Another source alluded to those concerns, stating that the former cable news host didn't sign the contract for weeks.

However, other sources don't seem to think those concerns would hold water. One insider familiar with the deal pushed back on the argument that X doesn't owe Lemon money, saying that the company's legal department took weeks to get a contract to his team.

Further, according to one person familiar with the deal, X had begun selling ads on the show, and its CEO Linda Yaccarino had promoted the deal at the CES conference in January.

"The Don Lemon Show" was scheduled to premiere on March 18 on X and YouTube with a debut episode of Lemon's interview with Musk at his SpaceX office in Austin, Texas.

However, it will no longer be taking off on X as reports suggest Musk wasn't pleased with Lemon's interview and subsequently pulled the plug on the deal.

Lemon had shared that "there were no restrictions" in the interview and that they "had a good conversation," as his questions were "respectful and wide-ranging," but recently released snippets from their conversation showed him asking Musk questions about the 2024 presidential elections, a possible donation to Donald Trump's reelection bid, and Musk's reported drug use.

Following the interview, Musk reportedly texted power agent Jay Sures, who represents Lemon, with the words "contract is canceled."

In a series of posts, he said that Lemon's show was "basically just 'CNN, but on social media,' which doesn't work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying."

The company further noted that it had simply "decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show."

Several fans took to X to share their mixed reactions to the interview in question, with some noting that Lemon was "dishonest" with the questions he asked, while others claimed Musk was being "defensive."

"The questions were dishonest and answering them provides legitimacy to the BS question and the dishonest interviewer. Elon wasn't putting up with his s---," a user wrote.

"That was Lemon's last 15 minutes of fame. He's toast now," a user shared.

Another fan said that "all Lemon had to do to revive his moribund career was to not be a pathetic serf of the regime for 30 min or so."

One fan insisted that Lemon asked Musk "legit questions, in an interview Musk agreed to," but then the billionaire was "too defensive to respond, and took his ball and went home."

"Musk hires a journalist, then is surprised Lemon acts like a journalist? He is not a clear-thinking individual, as has become increasingly clear," one user shared.