X cancels Don Lemon’s partnership after ‘tense’ Elon Musk interview

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon says his show’s partnership with X has been canceled by Elon Musk.

In an Instagram post, Lemon said that, as planned as part of the deal, Musk sat for a taped interview with him.

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A post shared by Don Lemon (@donlemonofficial)

That interview had no restrictions, according to Lemon, who also pointed out that Musk has trumpeted X as a platform for diverse voices in a “digital town square.”

Hours after the interview was wrapped, Musk contacted Lemon to inform him that X would cancel their partnership.

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“Elon publicly encouraged me to join X with a new show, saying I would have his ‘full support,’” reads Lemon’s statement. 

Later, during an appearance on his former network’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” Lemon characterized the interview as “tense” and shared clips of it ahead of its full release. He challenged Musk on a variety of topics, including X’s responsibility for moderating hateful content, his ties to Donald Trump and his use of ketamine. 

“I don’t have to answer questions from reporters, Don,” Musk said in one of the excerpts. “The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform and you asked for it. Otherwise, I would not do this interview.”

Terms of the original deal were not disclosed and are likely confidential, but social media platforms such as X have been known to ink deals with high-profile names for content. These deals can include upfront payments, revenue sharing from advertising, co-marketing and amplification and other factors as well as a combination of any or all of them.

This likely means that any funds Lemon would have gotten upfront, if any, from X, are now off the table. He could potentially monetize his content through the same ad revenue sharing program X offers other creators, though he could have to meet specific eligibility requirements to do so. 

Lemon could potentially insert his own advertising or paid content into his show and pocket all of those funds. He could also potentially make money from revenue sharing programs on other platforms where his show will appear, including YouTube, Spotify, Apple and iHeartRadio.

Meanwhile, Lemon still promised that an edited version of the Musk interview would be released as planned on March 18, 2024, as the first edition of “The Don Lemon Show.”

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A post shared by Don Lemon (@donlemonofficial)

Lemon would go on, in a separate video post to Instagram, question Musk’s purported position as a “free speech absolutist.” 

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“Throughout our conversation I kept reiterating to him, although it was tense at times, I thought it was good for people to see our exchange,” he said in the video statement. “But apparently free speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me.”

A source told CNN that Musk was reportedly taken aback when Lemon brought up ketamine, his government security clearance through SpaceX and his position on antisemitism. 

X, meanwhile, issued a statement.

“The Don Lemon Show is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities. However, like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships, and after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show,” it read.

Musk then attacked Lemon, posting, in part, “His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.”

“Instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity,” Musk continued, referred to the former CNN CEO.

CNN is not involved in the production of Lemon’s show. Instagram is notably owned by Meta, the parent of X rival Facebook.