Behind the Breakup of Elon Musk and Don Lemon

Don Lemon got to see both sides of Elon Musk.

First, there was the charming side of the billionaire who personally was behind the scenes wooing an initially skeptical Lemon to bring his style of on-camera journalism to X, which Musk insisted was a home for all sides of debate.

Then there was the rash side of Musk, who after sitting down with Lemon for an interview to be released Monday as part of the newsman’s first online show, fired off an angry text to the journalist’s agent: Contract is canceled. 

In that split second, Musk entered a new stage of public life as owner of a massive communication platform. For the past year or so of his X ownership, he has mostly acted as host of content and amplifier of opinions he supported. Now, he was in a way exerting editorial control. 

For X Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino, Lemon was supposed to be Exhibit A in the case that X isn’t a right-wing partisan tool but, as Musk has claimed, a town square for all sides of debate—left, right and everything in between.

Now Lemon is just the latest exhibit of how Musk blows up plans seemingly at a whim, another setback in Yaccarino’s thankless task of trying to assure brands that they can trust her and X. 
 

After years and years on TV, the former CNN star was known for sticking his finger in the eyes of powerful people, asking uncomfortable questions, and, as a Black, gay man, fighting to make diverse viewpoints heard.

For X, attracting Lemon marked a strong contrast to former Fox News star Tucker Carlson, whose high-profile embrace of X last year came as some users and advertisers worried about a hard-right turn.

“I hope that many others, particularly from the left, also choose to be content creators on this platform,” Musk said shortly after Carlson announced he would take his talents to X after being ousted from Fox News last spring.

Musk started publicly courting Lemon in spring of last year after the newsman was let go from CNN, where he had been one of the big names on the international news channel.

Musk’s deputy, Yaccarino, appeared left in a lurch this past week after having worked to land Lemon on the platform. Her January announcement of the Lemon-X partnership was seen as an antidote for advertisers nervous about the billionaire’s erratic ways and his amplification of tweets that in recent months have touched on antisemitism, immigration and corporate-diversity efforts.

Facing competition for viral content from creators on rivals at TikTok and YouTube, Musk tried to attract some of cable news’s biggest stars to X.

Such wins might show other, lesser-known online creators that X was the place to monetize their content. 

“Have you considered doing your show on this platform?” Musk tweeted at Lemon in May. “Maybe worth a try. Audience is much bigger.”

Then in June, as Carlson’s show launched on X, Musk again publicly made the case for Lemon and MSNBC star Rachel Maddow to join the platform. “It’d be great to have @maddow, @donlemon & others on the left put their shows on this platform. No exclusivity or legal docs required!” Musk tweeted. “You will receive our full support. The digital town square is for all.”

Behind the scenes, Musk, Yaccarino and others were reaching out directly to Lemon through texts and calls, according to a person familiar with the effort. 

Eventually Musk and Lemon had a lengthy call, the person said, during which the billionaire made the hard sell on why they should have a formal relationship. 
 

Anyone was free to post on X, but Musk wasn’t proposing a run-of-the-mill deal. Instead, Lemon would get paid for some exclusive content on the platform and his posts would get boosted across the platform, helping give him a valuable audience. Think lighter fluid on a barbecue. 

Still, Lemon, who worried about working with X, insisted on keeping editorial control. 

“He never was my boss,” Lemon said during an interview Wednesday on CNN. “They never had any editorial control of the show. The only reason I was doing it is because of distribution. I wanted…my work to be seen by the biggest number of people.”

The exact terms of their agreement haven’t been disclosed. 

Lemon alluded to the details during the appearance on CNN, saying he was free to post “The Don Lemon Show” on other platforms in addition to X, but he had a deal for additional content that would run exclusively on Musk’s platform for a set period.

That bonus material, such as, perhaps, several short video clips a week, was part of a deal that would give Lemon payments plus revenue share from X, according to the person familiar with the deal. 

Meanwhile, X seemed eager to announce something. 

By the end of 2023, Musk was trying to convince the world he wasn’t antisemitic after he amplified hateful vitriol and faced claims by an outside group that certain brand ads were running near pro-Nazi content. (He has called his tweet foolish and the claims unfair.)

Some big advertisers had enough and pulled their spending, further hindering the company’s already troubled finances. 

In January, Yaccarino wanted Lemon in Las Vegas at the large tech conference known as CES to announce their partnership. Lemon was part of a slate of shows for X promised by Yaccarino that included former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and sports talk show host Jim Rome. 

“We’ve been waiting for your return, Welcome @donlemon!!” Yaccarino tweeted.

That evening, Yaccarino had Lemon join her at a dinner with marketers as she tried to talk up the exciting future ahead with X. 

As winter sped on and it came time to launch the show, Lemon asked if Musk was game to be his first guest, and the billionaire quickly agreed. 

But even as he did, signs lingered that Musk had lost interest in selling X as a warm welcoming place for all comers. 

Two days before the interview, Musk was on stage at a Morgan Stanley conference in San Francisco where he was asked about Yaccarino’s recent efforts to woo advertisers.

Musk passed. “I don’t really pay a lot of attention.”

The moderator said he would then skip his question on efforts to protect advertisers’ brand safety, and Musk erupted into laughter. 

He was then back to Austin, home of Musk’s electric-car company, Tesla, and was spotted at a party tied to the South by Southwest festival occurring in the Texas town the night before the fateful interview with Lemon, held for 90 minutes on March 8. 

Only snippets of the interview have been released so far, including testy exchanges between Lemon and Musk over questions about the billionaire’s drug use—The Wall Street Journal has reported that he has taken ketamine and other substances—and perceived failings at fighting hate speech on X. 

Musk has said he has never failed a drug test, and X says it is making an effort to reduce the spread of hate speech.

“Don, the only reason I’m doing this interview is because you’re on the X platform and you asked for it,” Musk told him in one tense exchange. “Otherwise, I would not do this interview."

The next day, Musk texted Lemon’s agent that the partnership was over. 

Lemon and his team as well as Yaccarino and her team were left trying to pick up the pieces over the past weekend, hoping to rectify the deal, according to the person familiar with the matter. One of X’s corporate accounts reposted a promotion for the show’s debut.

But Lemon eventually concluded that Musk’s verdict was final. Then Lemon went public with his side of the dispute, saying Wednesday on X that Musk pulled his promised support for the show, which will still be shown on X along with other platforms. 

“His commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seems not to include questions of him from people like me,” Lemon wrote in a letter posted on X.

In his own posting, Musk responded that Lemon’s approach “was basically just ‘CNN, but on social media,’ which doesn’t work as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.” 

X and Musk emphasized that Lemon is free to post his content on the platform on his own, like anyone else. The interview is expected to still be uploaded Monday on X, YouTube and elsewhere. 

Now, all that is left to argue over is payment.

Both sides seem to agree that there was no final contract signed. But Lemon’s team has been clear.

“Don has a deal with X and expects to be paid for it,” a statement said. “If we have to go to court we will.”

Write to Tim Higgins at tim.higgins@wsj.com