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Musk, X Sued by Former CNN Star Lemon Over Partnership Dispute

Don Lemon said X offered him $1.5 million and a share of advertising sales as part of a one-year deal that required him to post exclusive video content to the social media platform. Photographer: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images (Angela Weiss/AFP/Photographer: Angela Weiss/AFP/G)

(Bloomberg) -- Former CNN host Don Lemon has sued Elon Musk and his social networking company, X Corp., alleging that Musk failed to compensate him for an “exclusive partnership” agreement that the two forged in January. 

Lemon, who worked for cable news network CNN for 17 years before being fired in April 2023, said X offered him $1.5 million and a share of advertising sales as part of a one-year deal that required him to post exclusive video content to the social media platform. Lemon claims he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars setting up a video production company for the arrangement, but after interviewing Musk in March for the first episode of his new show, the billionaire sent him a text within one day that said “contract is canceled.”

Lemon suggested at the time that Musk bailed on the deal because he didn’t like getting tough questions. Musk pointed instead to the show’s format. Lemon’s “approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media,’” Musk posted to his X account, “which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.”

“You weren’t nearly so skeptical when you and your CEO were asking me to exclusively partner with you,” Lemon said in a post on X.

According to the lawsuit, Musk’s people had earlier told Lemon there would be no need for a formal written agreement or to “fill out paperwork.” Lemon, however, claims there was an “express agreement” between the two parties about compensation, though he did not sign a contract. 

The lawsuit is the latest in what has been a messy breakup between Lemon and X. Musk and X Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino announced Lemon’s partnership during the Consumer Electronics Show in January, holding it up as an example of how the company was pivoting to professionally produced video in an effort to win back advertisers. Several similar arrangements seem to have either fallen through, or been slow to materialize. 

The New York Times earlier reported on the lawsuit. 

--With assistance from Chris Dolmetsch.

(Updates with additional details in third paragraph.)

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