Former CNN host Don Lemon said that Elon Musk canceled a partnership he had with X because Musk was angered by their recent interview that has yet to be aired.
“Elon Musk is mad at me, and I just put out a statement about what happened between him, me and the interview that he is apparently so upset about,” Lemon said in a video he shared on social media.
Lemon’s new streaming show had a partnership with Musk’s X, and the billionaire was also the program’s first guest. Lemon, who was fired from CNN last year, already taped the interview and detailed its future in a lengthy statement.
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“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. He informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday,” Lemon wrote in a statement posted on social media.
The interview that Lemon conducted with Musk will remain the premiere episode of “The Don Lemon Show” on March 18.
“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 most people, in the largest possible venue. I took Elon and his management’s team’s word that they, for the first time, were interested in working directly with new and diverse voices,” Lemon wrote.
“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.”
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Lemon said his conversation with Musk will be available on YouTube, wherever podcasts are available 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,” Lemon wrote.
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tech journalist Kara Swisher reported that Musk sent a “terse text” to Lemon’s reps stating “Contract terminated.” She gloated that she predicted that the partnership between Lemon and X wouldn’t work out.
“I had told Don that this is exactly what would occur… despite promises by Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino — who extravagantly touted this deal at CES to advertisers — that this time was different,” she wrote on X.
This is a developing story, more to come…
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Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
