Don Lemon, who was fired from CNN last year, had been working with Elon Musk‘s X (formerly Twitter) to launch a new talk show.
Now, according to Lemon, Musk has nixed the partnership — coming just a few hours after Lemon interviewed the tech mogul last week.
“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 said in a statement posted on X. “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.”
In a video on X, Lemon said, “Elon Musk is mad at me.”
According to Lemon’s written statement, “Elon publicly encouraged me to join X with a new show, saying I would have his ‘full support,’ and that his ‘digital town square is for all.’ He and his team pursued the deal in numerous conversations and made significant commitments about the support X would provide for the show. 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. 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.
“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. We had a good conversation. Clearly he felt differently,” Lemon continued. “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.”
Musk has not commented on Lemon’s claims on X. A rep for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lemon said the interview with Musk will be available on YouTube, “wherever you listen to podcasts and X.”
“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.
The former CNN anchor, who parted ways with the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed news outlet last year after he was moved to duties on its morning program, in January 2024 launched a new media company and said it would debut a new program via X.
