Don Lemon announced Wednesday that his X show has been canceled by Elon Musk, just hours after their interview.
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 and YouTube. Lemon says the interview will run as planned on YouTube, and that future episodes will be released there.
Lemon said that “there were no restrictions” in the interview, and that “we had a good conversation. Clearly he felt differently.”
Elon Musk canceled #TheDonLemonShow?
Watch on YouTube and listen everywhere on Monday March 18. pic.twitter.com/AAhnvcY0ny
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 13, 2024
THR has reached out to X for comment.
Don Lemon was one of the first original shows in an expansion of content partnerships at X (formerly known as Twitter). 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 CNN as a co-host of CNN This Morning nearly a year ago.
