Former CNN journalist Don Lemon has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk and his social media company, X (formerly Twitter), accusing them of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness, and breach of contract. The lawsuit was submitted on August 1, 2024, to the Superior Court of California for the County of San Francisco.
The legal dispute stems from a content partnership deal between Lemon and X, established in January 2024. Lemon was set to host an exclusive interview show on the X platform. However, in March 2024, Musk abruptly canceled the contract via a text message to Lemon’s agent, stating simply, “contract is canceled,” as per Lemon’s legal team.
Lemon is seeking unspecified monetary damages. The lawsuit details that Musk and X agreed to pay Lemon $1.5 million, with $200,000 upfront and the remainder in quarterly installments. Additional incentives included options to renew the deal, 60% of gross ad revenue from Lemon’s content, performance bonuses, $500,000 in advertising credits, a referral bonus for new content creators, and ownership rights over all his content on X.
Despite these terms, no formal written agreement was signed. According to the lawsuit, Lemon agreed to the deal after Musk assured him over a phone call in June 2023 that he would have full creative control and that no formal paperwork was necessary.
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Lemon’s attorney, Carney Shegerian, stated, “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. Don is an accomplished journalist committed to defending his good name and holding X’s executives accountable.”
The conflict intensified following a contentious interview between Lemon and Musk. Lemon claimed that Musk’s decision to cancel the contract came just hours after the interview, during which Lemon insisted that their exchange, though tense, was valuable for public discourse.
Since March 2024, Musk has allegedly tweeted negatively about Lemon multiple times. Following the contract termination, X released a statement inviting “The Don Lemon Show” to continue publishing on the platform but asserted their right to make business partnership decisions. Musk himself commented on X, using a lemon emoji to refer to Lemon and criticized Lemon’s demands for guaranteed payments, likening them to a failing business model.
This lawsuit comes after Lemon’s departure from CNN in 2023, where he faced allegations of inappropriate behavior towards women at the network.
The case underscores the complexities and challenges of high-profile media partnerships in the digital age and highlights ongoing issues around contractual agreements and creative control in the entertainment industry.