Elon Musk defends cutting Don Lemon's X deal: His approach was 'CNN, but on social media' which 'doesn’t work'

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Elon Musk sues AI company over breach of contract

FOX Business' Kelly O'Grady reports the latest on the lawsuit. 

X owner Elon Musk is defending his decision to cancel his platform's partnership with Don Lemon, claiming the former anchor was approaching his forthcoming show as "CNN, but on social media."

Lemon made a splash on social media Wednesday, revealing Musk had canceled his contract, saying the billionaire tech tycoon was "mad" at him over the interview Lemon conducted on Friday. 

But when asked about why he cut Lemon, Musk suggested Lemon couldn't shake off his CNN "approach." 

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X owner Elon Musk claimed he canceled his deal with Don Lemon because his approach to his new program is "CNN, but on social media." (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

"His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying," Musk told an X user Wednesday. "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."

A spokesperson for Lemon leveled a legal threat towards X, telling Puck News, "Don has a deal with X and expects to be paid for it. If we have to go to court we will."

X announced in January that it had inked a deal with Lemon, along with other talent, to produce content on the platform. 

But that came to a crashing halt on Wednesday for Lemon, after the former CNN star had interviewed Musk on Friday as his inaugural guest on "The Don Lemon Show," which was set to launch next week.

"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. 

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Former CNN host Don Lemon said Elon Musk scrapped his X deal because the billionaire was "mad" at him over an interview he conducted. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for THR)

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"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," he 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." 

Lemon's interview with Musk will still be shared on X as well as YouTube and all podcast platforms on March 18. 

Don Lemon is returning to the media landscape with a new show after he was fired from CNN last year. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)

In a statement to Fox News Digital, an X spokesperson said, "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."

Lemon took a swipe at X's statement, writing "Clean up on aisle X."

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He also took on Musk directly, who had posted earlier in the day that "Free speech is the bedrock of democracy."

"You canceled my contract after our interview. I don’t think you believe in free speech," Lemon told Musk. 

Lemon was fired from CNN last year by then-CNN CEO Chris Licht, who was shown the door himself weeks later.