Don Lemon Says Elon Musk Canceled His New X Talk Show After Interviewing Him: ‘Elon Musk Is Mad At Me’

Don Lemon and Elon Musk are feuding after initially agreeing to launch a show on X, formerly known as Twitter. Lemon, who worked at CNN for 17 years before parting ways with the network in 2023, was set to start a talk show on Musk’s social media platform. However, the former CNN anchor is now saying Musk is disgruntled after being interviewed for the first episode of the show.

“Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X, which they announced as part of their public commitment to amplifying more diverse voices on their platform,” Lemon tweeted on March 13. “He informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday. That interview will remain the premiere episode of The Don Lemon Show on Monday, March 18.”

Lemon’s representative, who spoke with Variety, said the 58-year-old journalist is ready to bring legal action against Musk if necessary.

“Don has a deal with X and he expects to be paid for it, If we have to go to court, we will,” the rep told Variety.

In another video Lemon posted on X, he said his show will still be broadcast on X despite his feud with Musk.

“Elon Musk is mad at me,” Lemon said in the clip. “This does not change anything about the show except for my relationship with Elon and X, and there is a whole lot that went down, and I’m gonna tell you about it in the coming days.”

He added, “Apparently, free speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me.”

Musk’s company responded with a statement posted to the X Business account page.

“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 stated. “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 also posted a statement on his personal X account, saying Lemon’s “approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media.'”

That approach, according to Musk, “doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.”

“And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity,” Musk said. “All this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else.”

Lemon reminded his followers that Musk publicly encouraged him to join X with a new show. The veteran journalist said Musk and his team “pursued the deal in numerous conversations and made significant commitments about the support X would provide for the show,” according to Variety.

“I made the decision to work with them in a unique partnership that I believed would ultimately assure that my work would be available to the most people, in the largest possible venue,” Lemon added. “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.”

Lemon still plans to make the Musk interview available on YouTube, as well as on X and multiple podcast platforms.

“This will be just the first of many episodes of The Don Lemon Show. While Elon goes back on his word, I will be doubling down on my commitment to free speech and I cannot wait to get started,” he said in his statement.

Lemon also said he doesn’t see any issue with the interview he did with Musk.

“There were no restrictions on the interview that he willingly agreed to, and my questions were respectful and wide-ranging, covering everything from SpaceX to the presidential election,” he said. “We had a good conversation. Clearly he felt differently. 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.”

As Blavity reported, Lemon announced plans for his own media company in January.

“I’ve heard you …and I am back, bigger, bolder, freer,” he wrote at the time. “My new media company’s first project is The Don Lemon Show. It will be available to everyone, easily, whenever and wherever you want it, streaming on the platforms where the conversations are happening. And you’ll find it first on X, the biggest space for free space in the world.”

Lemon was let go from CNN following his comments regarding former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who he said is past her “prime.”

“CNN and Don have parted ways,” former CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht said in a statement at the time, the New York Times reported. “Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”