The former CNN host interviewed the tech mogul last week, with the chat set to be the launch episode of his new ‘Don Lemon Show.’
Don Lemon won’t be bringing a show to Elon Musk‘s X platform, after all.
Lemon on Wednesday said that Musk “has canceled the partnership I had with X … he informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday.”
The interview with Musk is slated to be the debut episode of The Don Lemon Show, which was supposed to debut on X (formerly known as Twitter) and YouTube. Lemon says the interview will run as planned on YouTube, and that future episodes will be released there.
Replying to a comment on X, Musk said that they canceled the show because “his approach was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media’, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying. And, instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity.”
“X is a platform that champions free speech, and we’re proud to provide an open environment for diverse voices and perspectives,” X also said in a statement. “The Don Lemon Show is welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship, as we believe in providing a platform for creators to scale their work and connect with new communities. However, like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships, and after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show.”
Don Lemon was one of the first original shows in an expansion of content partnerships at X. At the same time it announced Lemon’s show, X announced two other talk shows: A program hosted by former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and a sports talk show hosted by former Fox Sports host Jim Rome.
X, under CEO Linda Yaccarino, has tried to pivot to a more video-centric offering. In addition to the talk shows, it cut a 10-show deal with Range Media Partners and picked up a series from the WWE called WWE Speed with ultra-quick timed matches.
Still, the apparent and abrupt U-turn for Lemon’s show raises questions about the company’s approach to partnerships and free speech.
“While Elon goes back on his word, I will be doubling down, I will be doubling down on my commitment to free speech and I cannot wait to get started,” Lemon said.
A former CNN anchor, Lemon was let go from the cable news outlet as a co-host of CNN This Morning nearly a year ago.
