Don Lemon sues Elon Musk and X for fraud and breach of contract

Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk and X over the abrupt termination of their agreement with the social media platform, alleging fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of name and likeness, and breach of express contract. Lemon’s show was canceled in March this year, following a controversial interview with Musk – who, according to the complaint, had promised Lemon that he would have free reign over the show’s content.

The complaint — filed Aug. 1 in California Superior Court for San Francisco County — claims that after advertisers fled Twitter following Musk’s acquisition, Musk and other X executives began courting Lemon with the aim of publicizing “a partnership between X and Lemon”. ” which would associate “brand X with Lemon’s good name, image, identity and reputation” to “rehabilitate” X in the eyes of advertisers.

Lemon entered into an exclusive partnership agreement with X in January 2024 after months of negotiations, according to the complaint, which states that Musk initially contacted Lemon in June 2023, asking him to join the platform. The complaint states that Lemon “expressed his reservations…due to the ongoing controversies surrounding Platform X.” In response, Musk allegedly told Lemon that he would have full control over the work he produced – even if Musk or others at X didn’t like it – and that there was “no need for a formal written agreement or to ‘fill out the paperwork. .’”

In December of that year, Lemon met with X executives – CEO Linda Yaccarino and Brett Weitz, then head of content, talent and brand sales at X – for dinner. According to the complaint, Lemon once again expressed his hesitation in partnering with the platform. Weeks after the meeting, Weitz texted Lemon: “You are prepared to make a lot of money this year,” the complaint states.

As part of the deal, Lemon agreed to produce ten short videos per month and one long-form video per week, and publish that content exclusively on X for a 24-hour period before it can be posted on other platforms. The deal guaranteed Lemon $1.5 million, of which the first $200,000 was paid in advance, the complaint alleges. The remaining funds would be paid out in quarterly installments, and Lemon would also receive additional funds depending on how many followers he got and the amount of programmatic advertising revenue generated by his content. As a result of these financial promises, the complaint alleges, Lemon “incurred hundreds of thousands of expenses” by forming his own media company, collaborating with his agents, entering into a production agreement with a content studio and a production company, and buy equipment.

The X deal fell apart after Lemon interviewed Musk in March. During the “tense” interview, Lemon probed Musk about his politics, drug use and the rise in hate speech on X since he took over the platform. Lemon asked Musk to comment on his views on illegal immigration, the “great replacement” conspiracy theory of white supremacy, and opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

“I don’t need to answer reporters’ questions,” Musk told Lemon during the interview. “Don, the only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on platform X and asked for it. Otherwise, we will not do this interview.”

Lemon later learned the deal was off from a text message Musk sent to Lemon’s agent that said “contract is off.”

Lemon is seeking economic, non-economic and punitive damages.

X did not immediately respond to On the edgerequest for comment.