Former CNN journalist Don Lemon filed a lawsuit against billionaire Elon Musk and X over the cancellation of his contract to produce exclusive content for X, according to court documents filed Thursday.
Lemon’s lawsuit alleges that Musk committed fraud, misrepresented the platform when pitching the deal, breached the contract, misappropriated Lemon’s name and likeness, and unjustly profited from it, according to the court documents. Lemon entered into an exclusive content contract with X in January 2024 and it was canceled in March 2024 by Musk — one day after Musk gave an interview to Lemon on his show.
“Defendants [Musk and X] deliberately misrepresented what they intended to do,” Lemon’s lawsuit claims. “Defendants knew that if they accurately represented to Lemon that the purpose and meaning of the exclusive partnership deal was to use Lemon’s name, likeness, reputation, and identity to rehabilitate Defendants’ reputation and draw in advertisers to the X platform, Lemon would never have agreed to do what he did and Defendants would have been unable to utilize Lemon to keep up with their ongoing efforts to woo advertisers.”
Lemon originally signed a one-year-deal in January where he would produce one “long-form” video per week that wasn’t breaking news, and ten short form videos a month, according to the filings. In return, X would have paid him $1.5 million over the year, with incentives such as an option to renew the contract twice with the same terms, ad revenue splits and performance pay among others.
Lemon seeks an undisclosed amount in monetary damages, according to the filings.
“This case is straightforward. X’s executives used Don to prop up their advertising sales pitch, then canceled their partnership and dragged Don’s name through the mud,” Carney Shegerian, Lemon’s attorney, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “You don’t have to be a genius to see the fraud, negligence, and reputational damage here. Don’s a hard-hitting journalist who’s committed to defending his good name. We look forward to our day in court.”
X saw a 78% drop in advertising revenue in December 2022 after Musk acquired the company, with advertisers pulling out as Musk drastically restructured the company by firing executives, according to Reuters. The lawsuit alleges X pursuing a deal with Lemon was a move to draw advertisers back while Lemon was “vulnerable” after being abruptly fired from CNN in 2023, according to the filings.
X sent an automated reply reading “Busy now, please check back later,” when the DCNF asked for comment.
(Featured image credit: Screenshot/Rumble/The Don Lemon Show)
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