Don Lemon has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk for failing to honor a content deal at X. The former CNN anchor alleges that the mogul canceled their partnership following a contentious interview. The exclusivity contract promised $1.5 million to Lemon, but Musk, the owner of X, did not uphold his commitment.
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A report from The New York Times reveals that Don Lemon has sued Elon Musk in the Superior Court of California. The journalist accuses Musk of breach of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment at the expense of his image, and other charges. According to a copy of the lawsuit, X exploited Lemon’s prestige as a journalist to enhance its exclusive content strategy but failed to provide the promised compensation.
“Defendants sought to align themselves with reputable figures whose name, likeness, and reputation they could leverage to attract advertisers,” the legal document states. “Lemon was a valuable prospect for X, and they saw an opportunity to enter into an exclusive partnership agreement following his departure from CNN.”
Lemon’s lawyers assert that X made false promises regarding payment for publishing Lemon’s content on the platform. Simultaneously, they used the opportunity to promote their partnership through posts and events with advertisers. Lemon claims he was “pressured to announce the agreement” and attend an event with Linda Yaccarino, X’s CEO.
“Contrary to their promises, once Defendants had enriched themselves and benefited from using Lemon’s name, image, identity, and reputation, they breached their explicit agreement and failed to compensate him, citing false pretenses for their breach of the partnership agreement.”
Don Lemon’s Interview with Elon Musk Was the Breaking Point
The lawsuit highlights significant details about X’s strategy to attract journalists. A few months ago, Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino launched an aggressive campaign to promote original content on the social network. With advertiser flight at its peak, they needed a strategy to retain them.
Don Lemon was part of this strategy, intended to counterbalance Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News presenter associated with the far right. Although the decision to sign Lemon seemed contrary to Musk’s ideals, he justified it by arguing that X supports free expression.
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Ultimately, the anticipated outcome occurred. Elon Musk abruptly terminated the partnership following an interview that infuriated him. The conversation began with Tesla-related topics but quickly shifted to Musk’s controversial tweets about conspiracy theories, anti-Semitism, and drug use.
After the interview, Elon Musk criticized Don Lemon, accusing him of inauthenticity. Simultaneously, X announced it would no longer engage with Lemon or his show, severing any existing business relationships.
His approach was basically just “CNN, but on social media”, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.
And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity.
All this said, Lemon/Zucker are…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 13, 2024
According to the lawsuit, Elon Musk agreed to pay Don Lemon $1.5 million, with $200,000 paid upfront and the remainder in quarterly installments. The journalist alleges that X did not fulfill this agreement and is seeking compensation for damages.
