Don Lemon, a former CNN host, is suing Elon Musk for breach of contract

Don Lemon, a former anchor for CNN, has sued Elon Musk and X, claiming that a $1.5 million contract was broken.

In a lawsuit against multibillionaire Elon Musk and his social media business X, formerly known as Twitter, former CNN personality Don Lemon claims unfair tactics and breach of contract in relation to a terminated talk show deal.

The action, which was submitted to the California Superior Court in San Francisco, alleges that, despite utilizing Lemon’s name to draw advertisers to the platform, Musk and X canceled their association with him without cause and did not pay him. Shegerian & Associates, Lemon’s legal team, has charged X with fraud, careless misrepresentation, and unauthorized use of his name and likeness.

In the complaint, it was stated that X had promised to give Lemon $1.5 million in exchange for a portion of the advertising money that came from his material. The lawsuit claims that in order to get Lemon to sign the pact, Musk and X made “false promises and representations.” The agreement allegedly broke down after the first episode of “The Don Lemon Show” was recorded in March. The episode, which included an interview with Musk, was designed to increase X’s allure to sponsors.

Musk, who was allegedly dismissive of the program, called Lemon’s strategy “just CNN, but on social media,” implying that the idea was not feasible. Lemon’s program was intended to be a component of X’s larger plan to revive its advertising revenue in the wake of Musk’s acquisition in 2022 and a number of scandals.

Shortly after leaving CNN in April 2023 because to his divisive remarks against Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, Lemon held discussions with Musk. 

Musk’s outreach was intended to entice advertisers back to X, but the platform has encountered difficulties, including as the cancellation of Paris Hilton’s November ad campaign, which has made stabilization much more difficult.

The lawsuit draws attention to the continued difficulties X is facing in its efforts to bounce back from the tumultuous change in ownership under Musk. The story has brought attention to social media companies’ larger difficulties in luring and keeping well-known advertisers and content creators.