Several months ago, what was supposed to be a new partnership between Don Lemon and X (formerly Twitter) came to an abrupt end after an interview between Lemon and X owner Elon Musk went differently than the latter was anticipating. Musk was upset at some of the questions posed by Lemon. The partnership was ended a day later. And now Lemon has filed suit against both Musk and X for fraud and breach of contract. He is seeking $35 million in damages.
According to the lawsuit, Lemon first entered into the prospective partnership with X in January of 2024, only to see that partnership dissolve in March a day after their interview, with a brusque text from Musk to Lemon's agent: "contract is canceled." The suit also states that Lemon never received any payment for his work on the project, which it says was supposed to be a guaranteed $1.5 million for his first year plus a cut of ad revenue, including a $200,000 upfront payment.
The lawsuit alleges that Lemon was lied to by X executives, including Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino, who, it says, "deliberately misrepresented what they intended to do," which Lemon claims was to use his name to rehabilitate the X/Twitter brand following a series of PR controversies rather than allowing him creative and editorial freedom for his own talk show on X as promised. Lemon's attorney, Carney R. Shegerian, said more in a press release:
"This case is straightforward. 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. Don is an accomplished and hard-hitting journalist who's committed to defending his good name and holding X's executives accountable. We look forward to our day in court."
Lemon also says he spent "hundreds of thousands of dollars" setting up his own media company to produce what was supposed to be an X-exclusive talk show hosted by the former CNN anchor.
On Friday, August 2, Musk referenced the lawsuit in a Twitter post:
"He made a series of impressively insane demands. We declined. Therefore, there was no deal."
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