Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk, X Over Scrapped Talk Show

Don Lemon has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and X after the erratic billionaire canceled a planned partnership that would have seen the former CNN anchor create a talk show on the embattled social media platform, Oliver Darcy reported for CNN

Lemon's lawsuit, filed in a San Francisco court, alleges that Musk and X induced him "through false promises and representations" to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to create the web-based show, only to pull the rug out from under him. I Photo: Fuzheado Wikimedia Commons

Musk abruptly canceled the well-publicized deal with Lemon earlier this year after becoming visibly annoyed during an interview with the journalist for the first episode of "The Don Lemon Show."

Lemon's lawsuit, filed in a San Francisco court, alleges that Musk and X induced him "through false promises and representations" to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to create the web-based show, only to pull the rug out from under him.

The lawsuit claims that Musk, along with X Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino, promised Lemon a $1.5 million deal and an added revenue-sharing incentive to post his content on the platform 24 hours before uploading it elsewhere.

Lemon further alleged that Musk intended to announce a partnership with him only to trade off his name in an attempt to rehabilitate the social media company's troubled image.

Since Musk took over X, advertisers have fled, choosing not to associate their brands with the toxic content on the platform, some of which emanates directly from the billionaire owner himself.

"This case is straightforward," Carney Shegerian, an attorney for Lemon, said.

"X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud. You don’t have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here."