Former CNN anchor Don Lemon is suing Twitter owner Elon Musk. Lemon says Musk did some bad things.
Lemon accuses Musk of fraud, misuse of his name, and breaking a contract. He was ready to launch a show on Twitter, but Musk canceled it. Now, Lemon wants money for damages.
The first episode of Lemon’s show featured a heated interview with Musk. During the interview, Lemon asked tough questions, making Musk uncomfortable.
Reports say Musk ended their deal in March. He sent a text to Lemon’s agent that simply said, “Contract is canceled.”
Lemon claims this happened just hours after their January interview. He commented, “Apparently, free speech absolutism doesn’t apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me.”
On Twitter, Musk said he canceled because of Lemon’s “insane demands.”
Musk tweeted on August 2: “He made a series of impressively insane demands. We declined. Therefore, there was no deal.” However, he didn’t specify what those demands were.
According to Variety, Musk and X promised to pay Lemon $1.5 million plus ad revenue-sharing and other perks. Although there was no signed contract, Musk assured Lemon that formal paperwork wasn’t necessary.
Lemon’s lawsuit coincides with an investigation into a PAC backed by Musk. The Michigan secretary of state’s office suspects election interference.
Over the weekend, Musk stirred more controversy by tweeting “Civil war is inevitable” in response to UK riots.
In another twist, 34-time convicted Republican nominee Donald Trump admitted being bought out by Musk. At a rally in Georgia, Trump said, “I am for electric cars… I have to because Elon endorsed me very strongly.”