Don Lemon Sits Down w/ CNN To Share Excerpts Of His ‘Tense’ Interview w/ Elon Musk Before His X Talk Series Was Canceled

Don Lemon and Elon Musk

Don Lemon Sits Down w/ CNN To Share Excerpts Of His ‘Tense’ Interview w/ Elon Musk Before His X Talk Series Was Canceled

Update (March 14): Don Lemon is detailing the exchange with Elon Musk that led to his talk series on X (formerly Twitter) being terminated.

On Wednesday night (March 13), Don Lemon sat down with CNN’s Erin Burnett (nearly one year after he was fired from the long-running news network) and shared his side of the 90-minute conversation with the X CEO.

Don Lemon recalled grilling Elon Musk about more hate speech being posted on X after he began leading the social platform last year. Elon Musk quipped,

“I don’t have to answer questions from reporters, Don. The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform and you asked for it. Otherwise, I would not do this interview.”

Elon Musk was also questioned about meeting with Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Fla. as the former President tried to raise money for his campaign while facing multi-million dollar judgments in civil court. Musk said,

“I was at a breakfast at a friend’s place and Donald Trump came by. That’s it.”

He noted that Donald Trump did “most of the talking,” and clarified that Trump didn’t ask for money. Musk said he was “not paying his legal bills in any way shape or form.”

Lemon also grilled Musk about his decision to speak about using ketamine for depression on X.

Lemon told Erin Burnett that at that point, the conversation “got personal.” See the full recap below:

Original Story (March 13): News broadcaster Don Lemon’s talk series with X (formerly Twitter) has ended as quickly as it came.

According to the TV anchor, his deal with the platform was abruptly terminated over the weekend following the interview he held with the platform’s CEO Elon Musk.

If you recall, Don Lemon announced that he’d be launching an eponymous talk series on, and in partnership with X in January of this year. The deal was curated after Lemon was famously fired from CNN following controversial comments he made about then-presidential candidate Nikki Haley being “past her prime.”

Despite criticism from his supporters, Lemon inked the deal to publish his new show on X, which is now over before it actually began. In a video explaining what happened, Lemon stated:

“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…This is going to be my first episode of the Don Lemon show…This does not change anything about the show except for my relationship with Elon and X.”

Elon Musk canceled #TheDonLemonShow?

Watch on YouTube and listen everywhere on Monday March 18. pic.twitter.com/AAhnvcY0ny

— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 13, 2024

In the aforementioned statement, he added:

“Elon Musk has cancelled 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.”

And continued:

“Elon publicly encouraged me to join X with a new show, saying I would have his ‘full support,’ and that his ‘digital town square was for all’…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.”

Don Lemon, Elon Musk

Lemon went on to state that it seems Musk is all for “free speech absolutism” unless he’s the one being questioned by “people like” Lemon. While the Tesla founder has not responded on his personal accounts about going back on the deal, X executives did release a statement, writing:

“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.’

Reportedly, Lemon is still expecting X to hold up their financial end of the bargain and has threatened to take legal action if necessary. The interview with Musk is set to premiere on YouTube on March 18th.

[VIA]

What are your thoughts about the situation? Will you be watching the interview? Let us know in the comments below!