Former CNN Host Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon has sued Elon Musk.

Don Lemon, who was previously fired by CNN, has sued Elon Musk in California’s Superior Court.

According to court filings, Lemon has accused Musk and his social media company X “of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness, and breach of express contract.”

In March, Musk canceled his partnership with Lemon shortly after he announced Musk would be his first guest of his new show.

NEWS: Don Lemon Sues Elon Musk Over Canceled X Deal

Lemon said in a lawsuit that Elon Musk had agreed to pay him $1.5 million annually to produce shows exclusively on X pic.twitter.com/DzGaWnWHVr

— X Daily News (@xDaily) August 1, 2024

Here’s what the New York Post reported:

Former CNN anchor Don Lemon sued Elon Musk on Thursday, saying that the billionaire entrepreneur refused to pay him after a partnership with the X social media platform got shelved.

The lawsuit was filed in California Superior Court in San Francisco, a legal filing showed.

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X canceled its partnership with Lemon in March after he said Musk would be his first guest in an interview.

“His approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work,” Musk later said in a post on the platform, adding that Lemon was welcome to build viewership on the platform.

Lemon, a popular prime-time personality, was fired from CNN in April last year after 17 years at the cable television network after a short tenure as morning show co-host.

🚨 BREAKING: DON LEMON SUES ELON OVER CANCELED X DEAL

Don Lemon is suing Elon, alleging X reneged on a $1.5M annual deal after a contentious interview.

Lemon claims Elon agreed to pay him without a contract, reassuring him there was "no need to 'fill out paperwork.'"

Lemon's… pic.twitter.com/1bDELJwAaF

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 1, 2024

Per Variety:

Attorneys for former CNN journalist Don Lemon sued Elon Musk and X (formerly known as Twitter), accusing the tech mogul and his social media company of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, misappropriation of Lemon’s name and likeness, and breach of express contract.

Lemon’s attorneys filed the lawsuit Aug. 1 in in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. A copy of the complaint is at this link.

Reps for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An autoreply from the company’s PR mailbox said, “Busy now, please check back later.”

Fired CNN anchor Don Lemon sues Elon Musk over canceled X deal https://t.co/YvmZIBO1hw pic.twitter.com/bd3qRSTrGf

— New York Post (@nypost) August 1, 2024