Musk cancels Lemon’s show shortly after interview

Lemon stated Musk texted ‘contract terminated’ post-interview

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon announced on Wednesday that Elon Musk had abruptly terminated a deal to exclusively host Lemon’s new talk show on X, formerly Twitter. Lemon revealed in a post on the platform that Musk cancelled the partnership hours after filming an interview, set to be part of the show’s debut episode. Musk texted him, “contract terminated.”

“In his post, Lemon said, ‘His commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me,’” according to Lemon.

Musk did not deny axing Lemon’s show. He tweeted, “His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying. Instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so it lacked authenticity. All this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else.” Musk has previously called himself a “free speech absolutist.”

In his post on Wednesday, Lemon stated that he would still air the interview with Musk on YouTube and on X, and included the side-eye emoji.

“While Elon goes back on his word, I will be doubling down on my commitment to free speech,” Lemon added.

Musk’s company announced the talk show deal with Lemon in January, as X sought to venture more into video content and attract prominent hosts to the platform. The Don Lemon Show was scheduled to air three 30-minute episodes a week. Lemon was one of CNN’s top stars before the network fired him unexpectedly last April, following internal disputes with other staff and a failed run as a morning show host.

When Lemon announced his departure from CNN on X, Musk replied, asking if Lemon would consider doing his show on the platform and claimed that the “audience is bigger” than CNN. Musk had previously hosted the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s show on the platform after Carlson was fired by the network last year.

“Elon publicly encouraged me to join X with a new show, saying I would have his ‘full support,’ and that his ‘digital town square is for all’,” Lemon said on Wednesday. “I took Elon and his management team’s word that they, for the first time, were interested in working directly with new and diverse voices.”

Musk has faced challenges in attracting top talent to X as he pivots the platform toward video content, seeking to persuade influencers like the popular YouTuber Mr Beast to share their material. Last week, Musk also announced the launch of a long-form video streaming app for smart televisions.

This move to expand X into video content is one of several strategies the platform is using to recover declining advertising revenues. Following Musk’s takeover, several major companies ceased advertising on the platform due to a documented increase in extremist content, including racism and antisemitism.