Elon Musk, the visionary behind SpaceX and Tesla, has recently defended his decision to terminate a planned partnership with Don Lemon for a show on his platform, Twitter. Musk argued that Lemon’s approach was reminiscent of CNN, a network he described as “dying”.
Lemon countered by stating that Musk had initially pursued the deal and pledged support. However, according to Lemon, Musk reneged on his commitment mere hours after an interview between the two. Despite Lemon’s assertion that the questions posed during the interview were respectful, Musk maintained that Lemon was unable to break away from his CNN-style approach.
In response to this abrupt cancellation, Lemon’s legal team threatened legal action over an unpaid contract.
Musk further elaborated on his decision by stating that Lemon’s approach lacked authenticity due to its similarity with CNN’s style. He claimed that Jeff Zucker, former boss of Lemon at CNN, heavily influenced Lemon’s views.
“His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work,” Musk said. “And instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don.”
A spokesperson for Lemon asserted their readiness to take legal action if necessary: “Don has a deal with X and expects to be paid for it. If we have to go to court we will.”
Lemon accused Musk of failing to uphold his commitment to promoting diverse voices and perspectives. Twitter, however, stated that it reserves the right to cancel partnerships but assured that the interview would still be published.
In a statement, Lemon expressed his disappointment: “Elon Musk has canceled the partnership I had with X… He informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday.”
Despite this setback, Lemon’s interview with Musk will still be shared on X, YouTube, and all podcast platforms on March 18.
An X spokesperson defended their decision: “X is a platform that champions free speech… However, like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships.”
Lemon criticized Musk for not believing in free speech after the contract was canceled. “You canceled my contract after our interview. I don’t think you believe in free speech,” Lemon said.
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