Don Lemon’s X talk show deal is canceled after a “tense” interview with Elon Musk for the premiere

In January, former CNN anchor Don Lemon announced a partnership with Elon Musk to produce long-form video content on X (formerly Twitter), but after interviewing Musk for his premiere episode, the agreement has turned from a green light to a red light.

According to Musk, “The Don Lemon Show” lacked originality, explaining his reasons for canceling the deal via a post to X, writing, “His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.” But Lemon sees things differently, issuing a statement of his own where he says “a whole lot” went down during their interview, which he still plans to post to X, and be paid for.

“Elon Musk is mad at me,” Lemon said in a video to tell his side. “This does not change anything about the show except for my relationship with Elon and X . . . and I’m gonna tell you about it in the coming days. Apparently, free speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me.”

Lemon states that he and Musk “had a good conversation” that covered everything from SpaceX to the presidential election, but admitted that it “was occasionally tense,” according to The New York Times, especially during moments where he asked probing questions about Musk’s reported drug use and his various business ventures. 

In a statement from X, they write, “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.”