Don Lemon files lawsuit against Elon Musk over canceled Show X

Former CNN host Don Lemon filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk this week, hitting the tech billionaire for rescinding a deal they made earlier this year on a new show.

The complaint, filed Thursday in California Superior Court in San Francisco, accused social media platform X — which is owned by Musk — of using Lemon’s “good name, likeness, identity and reputation” to boost its own reputation. , attract advertisers and to make a profit. Lemon also claimed he was not paid after the contract was terminated.

“Contrary to the promises and representations made to Lemon, once Defendants enriched themselves and obtained the benefits of using Lemon’s name, image, identity and reputation, they reneged on their express agreement with Lemon and failed to compensate him, citing false pretexts for violating the partnership agreement,” the lawsuit states.

The suit also noted that in the settlement, X agreed to pay Lemon $1.5 million annually for creating videos for the platform, a percentage of advertising revenue earned from his content, and additional payments as he gained followers on the platform.

According to the complaint, Musk told Lemon in a phone call last year that they did not need to have a formal written agreement or “fill out paperwork.”

“This case is simple. X executives used Don to support their advertising sales pitch, then canceled the partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud,” Carney Shegerian, Lemon’s attorney, said in a statement.

“You don’t have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence and reputational damage here. Don is a hard-hitting journalist who is committed to defending his good name. We look forward to our day in court,” Shegerian added.

Lemon revealed in January that he would be launching a new show on X, months after his split from CNN last year. However, the host said in March that Musk canceled the show just a week before its launch.

For the first episode in March, Musk agreed to interview Lemon. The day after the recording, the suit alleged he texted Lemon’s agent to say the deal was off.

The tech mogul criticized Lemon after he announced the show was canceled earlier this year.

“His approach was basically ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying,” Musk said at the time, after being interviewed by Lemon.

The Hill has reached out to X for comment.

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