Former CNN personality Don Lemon’s partnership with the social-media app X has ended abruptly, Lemon announced Wednesday in a video he posted on the platform, telling his followers that Musk pulled the plug on the collaboration shortly after an interview between the two ended.
That interview reportedly consisted of subjects like Musk’s use of ketamine, the 2024 election, and SpaceX, and Musk supposedly agreed to be interviewed without stipulating which topics could be covered.
“Throughout our conversation, I kept reiterating to him — although it was tense at times — I thought it was good for people to see our exchange,” Lemon said in the video he released on X. “But, apparently, free-speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me.”
The X Business account on the app posted that “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.”
Musk himself wrote that Lemon’s “approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.” He continued, saying of Lemon’s new show that “instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity.”
He clarified at the end of the post that “all this said, Lemon/Zucker are of course welcome to build their viewership on this platform along with everyone else.”
Lemon said he still intends to post his interview with Musk on X as well as other platforms like YouTube, but the end of Lemon’s partnership with X is the first sign of discord within X’s new long-form video venture.
Aside from its former partnership with Lemon, X has established shows with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and plans to launch another with former Hawaii congresswoman — and reported candidate for former president Donald Trump’s vice-presidential slot — Tulsi Gabbard in the coming weeks.