Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has launched a lawsuit against Elon Musk and his social media company X.
His case is over the abrupt termination of a talk show agreement, with 58-year-old Don’s legal action alleging Elon, 53, and his company unjustly canceled the partnership with him and leveraged his name to attract advertisers to the platform without fulfilling their financial commitments.
Don’s legal representatives, Shegerian and Associates, say the lawsuit involves accusations of fraud, negligent misrepresentation and the misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness. According to the filing with the California Superior Court in San Francisco, X had committed to paying Don $1.5 million, alongside a share of advertising revenue from his content. “The lawsuit alleges fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and misappropriation of name and likeness,” Shegerian and Associates said on their Facebook page.
Earlier in the year, X secured deals with Lemon, former US congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, 43, and sports radio presenter Jim Rome, 59, in a bid to restore advertiser confidence after a series of controversies. ‘The Don Lemon Show” was set to debut on X, with the first episode featuring an interview with Musk, recorded at Tesla’s Texas headquarters. But, the deal fell apart in March after this initial recording.
In a post on X, Musk remarked Don’s show concept was “basically just CNN, but on social media, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.” The interview saw Don questioning Elon on various topics, including his use of the drug ketamine and the rise of hate speech on X and the cancellation of his show came after the host had invested thousands of dollars into the show’s production.
Don, who had been with CNN for 17 years, was dismissed from the network in April 2023 following contentious on-air comments about 52-year-old Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. Following his exit from CNN, Elon reached out to Don as part of efforts to attract advertisers back to X, which had been embroiled in controversy since the billionaire’s 2022 takeover. The platform has struggled to maintain advertiser relationships, with notable departures including 43-year-old Paris Hilton’s firm, 11:11 Media, over content moderation concerns.
