Get ready for what should be a lopsided legal showdown between tech mogul Elon Musk and former CNN anchor Don Lemon.
Lemon recently filed a lawsuit against Musk and his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
The suit alleges breach of contract, fraud, and misuse of Lemon’s likeness.
At the heart of the dispute is a content deal that went sour before it even began.
According to court documents, Lemon and X had agreed to a partnership in January.
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The deal would have given Lemon his own show on the platform, with a hefty $1.5 million annual salary plus ad revenue.
Lemon claims he was promised full control over his content and additional financial incentives.
He made a series of impressively insane demands. We declined. Therefore, there was no deal.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 2, 2024
However, Musk pulled the plug on the deal in March, shortly after Lemon interviewed him for what was meant to be the show’s premiere episode.
Lemon took to X to express his disappointment, suggesting that Musk’s vision of a “global town square” might not include tough questions from journalists like himself.
Musk fired back. He claimed that Lemon had made “impressively insane demands,” including:
– A free Tesla Cybertruck
– A $5 million upfront payment on top of an $8 million salary
– An equity stake in X
– The right to approve changes in X’s news content policies
“We declined. Therefore, there was no deal,” Musk stated bluntly on X.
While the full truth of these negotiations may only come to light in court, the public spat offers a glimpse into the high-stakes world of media deals and platform politics.
Lemon’s lawsuit paints a picture of a vulnerable journalist, fresh off his controversial departure from CNN, being courted by X during a turbulent time.
The complaint alleges that X sought to capitalize on Lemon’s name and reputation to attract advertisers back to the platform after a mass exodus in 2023.
Elon Musk reveals the reason behind the cancelation of his show:
"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… pic.twitter.com/GFwEfHkCgf
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) March 13, 2024
On the flip side, Musk’s version of events suggests a case of overreach by Lemon, with demands that went far beyond a typical content partnership.
As outsiders, we can’t know all the details of what transpired behind closed doors.
However, given Musk’s track record of shaking up traditional media models and Lemon’s history of controversial statements, it’s not hard to imagine why this partnership might have been doomed from the start.
Musk has consistently positioned X as a platform for free speech and open dialogue.
His criticism that Lemon’s approach was “basically just ‘CNN, but on social media'” suggests a fundamental mismatch in vision for the show.
Based on what we now know it seems likely that Lemon doesn’t have a leg to stand on and Musk will prevail, especially given the lack of any legal contract.