Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk and X over a contentious content partnership deal that was canceled before it ever began. Lemon accuses X of “deliberately misrepresenting” the deal to exploit his name and status to improve X’s reputation under Musk.
Lemon was set to host a show on X as part of this deal. However, just days before the debut of the first episode, Elon Musk withdrew from the agreement. Musk told Lemon he could still air his show on X and receive advertising revenue, but any form of collaboration with X was terminated.
The dispute then escalated, with the two exchanging insults on X. Lemon accused Musk of being “anti-free speech,” while Musk criticized Lemon’s content as essentially just “CNN but on social media.”
Both Musk and Lemon’s attorneys said there was never a signed contract for the proposal. However, Lemon’s attorneys argue that “contracts don’t necessarily have to be signed to be legally binding.”
In the in the lawsuit, filed on Aug. 1, Lemon alleges a breach of contract and claims he has not received the compensation he is owed. Lemon said he was guaranteed $1.5 million in the first year of the partnership, which never materialized. He also stated he invested “hundreds of thousands of dollars into creating” content before the deal was abruptly canceled.
As of Friday, Aug. 2, Musk and representatives for X have not commented on the litigation.
