Elon Musk and X asked a federal judge to throw out former CNN host Don Lemon’s lawsuit alleging they defrauded him by canceling a partnership on the social media platform after a controversial interview.
In an appearance Monday night in San Francisco federal court, Musk said he did nothing wrong by telling Lemon he “didn’t need” to sign a contract and that he and X would give Lemon “authority and complete control” over his work even. if they didn’t like his views.
Musk called it unreasonable for Lemon to rely on a vague statement that a written contract was unnecessary for a multimillion-dollar partnership.
The billionaire also blamed Lemon for the fallout of the partnership in March, saying he truly believed it would work before Lemon “ruined the relationship by conducting an invasive and inappropriate interview with him.”
Lemon’s interview addressed content moderation, hate speech and Musk’s drug use, among other topics.
X also asked for a dismissal of Lemon’s lawsuit, saying the disruption of a high-profile business deal “may be cause for hurt feelings” but did not entitle him to prevail. He also took issue with what he called his “invasive and loaded interview” of Musk.
Carney Shegerian, an attorney for Lemon, said in an email: “X’s response confirms that the company terminated its contract with Don after he asked questions in the interview that Musk did not like. This comes after months of Xi hanging out with Don over and over to boost sales of their tank ads.
“This file is clearly about Musk’s ego, not the facts,” Shegerian added. “We look forward to our day in court.”
Lemon asked for a minimum of $1.5 million plus a share of advertising revenue in the first year, and potentially millions more for attracting followers and advertisers to X.
Many advertisers concerned about hate speech and misinformation on X left the platform once known as Twitter after Musk’s $44 billion purchase in 2022.
Musk’s other businesses include Tesla and SpaceX.
In seeking a dismissal of Lemon’s lawsuit, Musk also said the case did not belong in California, originally in state court, because he was a Texas resident while Lemon lived in New York. He said the case could be moved to Texas.
Lemon spent 17 years at CNN, becoming one of its most popular personalities.
He was fired in April 2023, two months after he made on-air comments about women and then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley that were widely perceived as sexist. Lemon later apologized.
The case is Lemon v. Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-06487.
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