Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk For $1.5M For Fraud, Breach Of Contract Over Canceled Show After CNN Firing
Elon Musk and X are finding themselves on the business end of a lawsuit.
Journalist Don Lemon is suing Musk and the platform formerly known as Twitter alleging that tech mogul failed to uphold the payment end of an agreement. According to the lawsuit, Lemon believes that he was entitled to compensation after the cancellation of his show that he never received.
In April 2023, Lemon was fired from 'CNN' after 17 years with the network. He was let go due to allegations he behaved inappropriately towards women. He spent two months as a morning show host, on which he made comments about Republican candidate Nikki Haley being "past her prime."
He apologized for the sexist remarks, according to 'NPR,' adding how he "certainly see why people found it completely misguided."
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Following this termination, Lemon, 58, alleged that Musk pressured him, in his weakened state, into an exclusive deal with him. This deal consisted of an agreement that Lemon would exclusively partner with X and receive certain payments and ad revenue from the agreement. He estimates that he should have received approximately $1.5 million, none of which has made its way into the journalist's hands.
According to the complaint, the Louisiana native is alleging that Musk, 53, intentionally used him to boost advertising revenue. The suit claimed "a gay, Black man with an excellent reputation" was the "perfect candidate to partner with to aid their dying advertisement revenue."
"This case is straightforward," Carney Shegerian, Lemon's attorney, said, per 'Variety.' "X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don's name through the mud."
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During the brief run of Lemon's show, he interviewed the businessman — a move many believe was the beginning of the end for the contentious partnership. After Lemon made several inquiries into Musk's use of ketamine, the investor grew frustrated. Shortly following the interview, the show was canceled and Lemon was fired.
A complicated element for Lemon and his team was that a formal, written agreement was never created. 'Variety' reports Lemon entered into a verbal agreement over the phone with the Tesla CEO.
X has not yet made a comment in regards to the pending lawsuit from Lemon and his team.
