Following a contentious interview with Elon Musk, Don Lemon announces the cancellation of his agreement with X.

March 14, 2024

Following a contentious interview with Elon Musk, Don Lemon announces the cancellation of his agreement with X.

Just before the debut of the former television anchor's new talk show, his agreement fell apart following an interview with the owner of the website, he stated.

Following a tense interview with Elon Musk, the former television anchor Don Lemon's agreement for a new talk show on X collapsed just days before its scheduled airing.

Mr. Musk terminated Mr. Lemon's partnership with X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, the day after recording a ninety-minute interview with the former news anchor at SpaceX's headquarters in Austin, Texas. Mr. Lemon described the conversation as occasionally tense, as he posed probing questions about the upcoming U.S. presidential elections, Mr. Musk's reported drug use, and his various business ventures.

Mr. Lemon stated that he would release the interview on March 18 on YouTube and would continue to share his content on X. "My questions were respectful and covered a wide range of topics, from SpaceX to the presidential election," Mr. Lemon said in a statement. "We had a productive conversation. However, it seems that Mr. Musk had a different perspective. His commitment to fostering a global forum where all questions and ideas are welcome appears to exclude inquiries from individuals like myself."

Sales representatives at X were taken by surprise by the sudden cancellation, as they had been actively working as recently as Monday to secure advertisements for the show, according to an internal document reviewed by The New York Times.

The termination of a show that Mr. Musk assured would receive his "full support" is the most recent instance of self-imposed disruption in business affairs at X in recent months. In November, Mr. Musk advised advertisers against investing in his platform, using profanity to dismiss them, and accused them of attempting to "blackmail" him following his apparent endorsement of an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on X. His remarks triggered a costly departure of advertisers.

Mr. Musk commented on X that Mr. Lemon's show lacked originality. "His approach was essentially 'CNN, but on social media,' which is ineffective, given CNN's decline," Mr. Musk wrote. "And, instead of it being the genuine Don Lemon, it was essentially Jeff Zucker speaking through Don, lacking authenticity."

Mr. Zucker, the former president of CNN, currently heads a media-focused investment firm named RedBird IMI and oversees EverWonder Studio, a production company that provides services to Mr. Lemon's show.

Mr. Lemon was among several high-profile figures, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, who reached agreements this year to create long-form video content on X. This initiative is part of the platform's effort to onboard content creators and generate premium content that appeals to advertisers.

X initially committed financial support for the development of Mr. Lemon's new project, titled "The Don Lemon Show." However, the company announced in a statement that it would no longer provide compensation to Mr. Lemon for content creation on the platform.

"The Don Lemon Show is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to expand their work and engage with new audiences," the company stated on X. "However, like any business, we retain the right to make decisions regarding our business partnerships, and after careful deliberation, X opted not to pursue a commercial partnership with the show."

A spokesperson for Mr. Lemon stated that he intends to pursue compensation from X. "Don has an agreement with X and expects to be compensated accordingly," she remarked. "If necessary, we are prepared to take legal action."

Recent video agreements at X, including the one involving Mr. Lemon, were orchestrated by X's CEO, Linda Yaccarino, a former NBC Universal executive who has utilized her television expertise to expand X's content offerings. The upheaval underscores the difficulties faced by Ms. Yaccarino as she endeavors to attract advertisers and content creators to the platform amidst the unpredictable leadership of Mr. Musk.

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