Don Lemon Claims His Elon Musk Interview Is Being ‘Suppressed’ by X – But the Numbers Cast Doubt on That Claim

Former 📺CNN host 📺Don Lemon might have lost his exclusive X show deal with 👤Elon Musk in ignominious fashion, but that’s not going to stop him from milking the situation for every last drop of clout.

Following Lemon’s ouster from 📺CNN in April 2023, he and Musk reached an agreement under which Lemon would host a new show on the billionaire’s 📱Social media platform X, similar to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s show.

However, before the show was set to debut, Lemon released a lengthy statement on 📱Social media announcing it had been canceled after a “tense” 🎙️Interview with Musk.

The two of them went back and forth on X a few times, with Musk saying he canceled the show because it would just be “📺CNN, but on 📱Social media” rather than the “real 📺Don Lemon,” and Lemon and his team accusing X of acting on the whims of Musk.

The interview ultimately was released Monday on X and ▶️YouTube for the world to see.

Lemon, though, still can’t stop complaining.

Going to entertainment publication The Wrap, he is now accusing X of “suppressing” the Musk 📹Video.

The entertainment outlet apparently agreed, saying the 🎙️Interview was “almost impossible to find on the platform” and had only “400,000 views” after its release Monday morning.

“It would seem to defy credulity that if 21 million people engaged with my post on X announcing my new show, that only a few hundred thousand would be interested in the 🎙️Interview on X as of this afternoon,” Lemon told The Wrap. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

His representative was less diplomatic, saying, “X is obviously suppressing 🗣️Free Speech. Don’s 🎙️Interview was suppressed by X so less people view it.”

By Tuesday afternoon, however, the total “views” had reached 1.4 million, undercutting suppression claims.

(It’s worth mentioning that X does not provide any information about what constitutes a “view.” However, it’s safe to say only a tiny fraction of any “view” total watched the entire 📹Video on the platform.)

Moreover, Lemon’s 📹Video received similarly little interest on its first day on YouTube, the platform he probably believes would treat him more favorably.

As the official X News account said on Monday while sharing The Wrap’s article, “No suppression here– X believes in 🗣️Free Speech. You might want to check ▶️YouTube, there’s only 188K views!”

For Lemon, this apparently isn’t about “🗣️Free Speech” or “suppression.”

Rather, it seems this brief partnership with X was meant to be a publicity stunt that he would blow up for headlines.

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However, based on the comments his interview has received, it might not be blowing up exactly the way Lemon wanted.

X users called the former 📺CNN host “condescending,” an “activist pretending to be a journalist” and “antagonistic and rude,” among other things.

But Lemon claimed to want free speech, didn’t he?

He can’t say he didn’t get it.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.