Media

Lemon Dropped: Elon Musk Cancels Partnership With Ex-CNN Anchor’s New Show

Don Lemon and Elon Musk

[Photos by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images/Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue]

Nicole Silverio Media Reporter
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Ex-CNN host Don Lemon said Wednesday that “X” CEO Elon Musk refused to commercialize his new show on the platform.

Lemon announced the launching of his new show, “The Don Lemon Show,” on X and YouTube following his firing from CNN in April. Lemon claimed Musk chose to cancel its partnership with the show Wednesday which has “changed” his “relationship” with the tech mogul and the platform.

“Hi everyone. 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 uploaded in the tweet. “But make no mistake about this. This is going to be my first episode of the Don Lemon Show this coming Monday March 18 so make sure you tune in. This does not change anything about the show except for my relationship with Elon and X. And there, there’s a whole lot that went down and I’m going to tell you about it in the coming days.”

Lemon said he believes in free speech and that his show would reach the peak of success on Musk’s platform. (RELATED: Don Lemon Announces New Gig) 

“But apparently, free speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me,” he added. “What do we talk about? Why is he so upset? Does he even have a reason to be upset?”

X Business said the platform “champions free speech” and welcomed Lemon to air his show on the platform in a post. The platform said it decided not to enter into a “commercial partnership” after “careful consideration.”

“X is a platform that champions free speech, and we’re proud to provide an open environment for diverse voices and perspectives. The Don Lemon Show is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities. However, like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships, and after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show,” X Business said in a statement.

Musk said Lemon’s approach was to bring CNN to X which “lacked authenticity.”

“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 of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else,” Musk said.

CNN fired Lemon in April after he came under fire for saying women around Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s age are past their “prime.”

“This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable,” Lemon said during a Feb. 16 segment. “I think it’s the wrong road to go down. She says people, you know, politicians are suddenly not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry, when a woman is considered to be in her prime in 20’s and 30’s and maybe 40’s.”

Lemon apologized for his “inartful” and “irrelevant” remark, and received formal training from the network. Former CNN CEO Chris Licht condemned Lemon’s comment by calling it “unacceptable and unfair” to Lemon’s former co-hosts, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, The New York Times reported.

Lemon told Puck News he has since “cut the cord” with corporate media and shifted to watching a variety of podcasts and shows from across the political spectrum, including Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro’s show.