Don Lemon said Wednesday that his partnership with Elon Musk dramatically reached its end after a “tense” interview. The former CNN anchor sat down to talk to Musk in a 90-minute sit-down to discuss X, formerly known as Twitter, on his new independent web show.
“Elon publicly encouraged me to join X with a new show, saying I would have his ‘full support,’” Lemon said in a statement, adding that he fully believed that Musk was “interested in working directly with diverse voices.” Lemon shared that when he discussed the rise in hate speech and harmful ideology on X, Musk refused to provide any meaningful insight or present any changes he wished to implement. According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, since Musk purchased the platform, hate speech has run rampant on the platform. The CCDH added that X ignores its own anti-hate speech rules and allows harmful content to be posted.
“I don’t have to answer questions from reporters, Don,” Musk replied to Lemon, “The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform and you asked for it. Otherwise, I would not do this interview.”
Lemon questioned Musk about his meeting with former president Donald Trump, in which Musk only said “I was at a breakfast at a friend’s place and Donald Trump came by. That’s it. [Donald Trump] did most of the talking.” Musk denies claims that he is assisting Trump financially in his current legal battles.
On the topic of Musk’s open use of the drug ketamine, Musk said that since he has a prescription for the drug, his security clearance should not be called into question. Lemon believes the interview led to a breakdown in their relationship and is the ultimate reason for the cancellation of his contract.
“The Don Lemon Show is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities,” the company said in a statement posted on the platform, “However, like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships, and after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show.”
Musk took the opportunity to attack Lemon and CNN, which Lemon is no longer affiliated with. “His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying,” Musk wrote, “And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just [former CNN chief] Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity.”
