Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk & X For Unpaid Contract After Show Cancellation

Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk & X For Unpaid Contract After Show Cancellation

Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk and X, alleging the tech mogul failed to honor a contract for his show and refused to compensate him after its cancellation.

The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco on August 1, claims that Elon Musk and his team pressured Don Lemon into an exclusive partnership with X, promising substantial payments and advertising revenue shares.

Don Lemon and Elon Musk

According to court documents, Elon Musk agreed to pay Don Lemon $1.5 million annually and a percentage of ad revenue. However, Lemon asserts that despite these promises, he has not received any payments.

The legal dispute follows a tense interview between Don Lemon and Elon Musk earlier this year, which may have contributed to the show’s cancellation.

Lemon’s lawsuit argues that Musk and his social platform X leveraged the television journalist’s high profile to attract advertisers but failed to honor their agreement. It’s important to note that the parties involved reportedly did not have a formal written contract, but there was still an agreement that the deal would be upheld.

The complaint reads,

“A gay, Black man with an excellent reputation and a household name, he was the perfect candidate to partner with to aid their dying advertisement revenue.”

In the lawsuit, Lemon alleges that Musk and his team rushed him into the partnership while he was “vulnerable” following his firing from CNN in April 2023 and claims he incurred significant expenses preparing for the show.

Lemon’s attorney, Carney Shegerian, criticized X’s handling of the situation, stating,

“This case is straightforward. X executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud.”

X representatives have not yet provided a comment.

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